RATIONALE: Biological therapies, such as lymphokine-activated killer cells, may stimulate the immune system in different ways and stop tumor cells from growing. Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as Gliadel wafer, work in different ways to stop the growth of tumor cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. It is not yet known whether lymphokine-activated killer cells are more effective than Gliadel wafer in treating patients with glioblastoma multiforme. PURPOSE: This randomized phase II trial is studying the side effects and how well lymphokine-activated killer cells work compared with Gliadel wafer in treating patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme that can be removed by surgery.
OBJECTIVES: * To compare the side effects, including infections and/or abnormal healing at the surgery site, associated with intralesional lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells vs polifeprosan 20 with carmustine implant (Gliadel® wafer) as consolidation therapy for patients with newly diagnosed resectable glioblastoma multiforme. * To compare the overall survival of patients treated with these regimens. OUTLINE: Patients are stratified according to age (\< 50 vs ≥ 50 years of age), Karnofsky performance status (70-80% vs 90-100%), use of corticosteroids \> 4 mg/day (yes vs no), and progressive disease during first-line therapy (yes vs no). Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms. * Arm I: Patients undergo intracranial placement of polifeprosan 20 with carmustine implant (Gliadel® wafer) at the time of therapeutic craniotomy. * Arm II: Patients undergo leukapheresis to obtain autologous lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells, followed 3-7 days later by therapeutic craniotomy. The autologous LAK cells are then instilled into the tumor bed cavity at the time of therapeutic craniotomy. After completion of study treatment, patients are followed periodically for up to 5 years.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Instilled into the tumor bed cavity
Intracranial placement
Hoag Cancer Institute at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Newport Beach, California, United States
Overall survival
Time frame: 5 years or death, whichever came first.
Rate of significant surgical wound infection (grade 3 or 4)
Time frame: 4 weeks from date of study treatment.
Rate of grade 3 or 4 non-infectious wound complications
Time frame: 4 weeks from date of study treatment.
Toxicity as assessed by NCI CTCAE version 3.0
Time frame: 4 weeks from date of study treatment.
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