A trend towards a more intense adjuvant treatment of low-grade-gliomas in tertiary centers in Germany after RTOG 9802 – results from a multi-center survey

BACKGROUND: The treatment recommendations for Low-grade Gliomas (LGG) underwent profound changes due to results from RTOG 9802 published in April 2016. This work aims to investigate whether the results from the trial were already incorporated into the treatment recommendations at German oncology centers before an update of the official guidelines. METHODS: An online based questionnaire with questions covering all aspects of adjuvant treatments of LGGs was generated, including three cases with distinct clinical situations. We contacted all members of the neuro-oncologic working group (NOA) of the German Cancer Society (DKG) as well as all German-speaking members of the European Low-Grade Glioma Network via E-mail. RESULTS: We collected 38 responses. All responders were at least specialists; they predominantly worked at tertiary hospitals with a high volume of LGGs treated annually (75% with more than 10 cases per year). All responders stated to consent treatment recommendation for LGGs within interdisciplinary oncologic boards. The treatment recommendations for LGGs changed profoundly between 2015 and 12/2016. There is a trend towards PCV-based multimodal treatments, especially for oligodendroglial LGGs, as well as a trend away from watchful-waiting-policies for astrocytic LGGs. CONCLUSION: Neurooncologists do adapt results from clinical trials quickly. None the less, there is still an immense heterogeneity within the treatment recommendations, predominantly for astrocytic LGGs. Well planned clinical trials and concise treatment recommendations are warranted; additionally, individual counseling of patients is essential.