High-dose radiotherapy in newly diagnosed low-grade gliomas with nonmethylated O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase

BACKGROUND: Patients with low-grade gliomas (LGGs) harboring O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase promoter nonmethylation (MGMT-non-pM) have a particularly short survival and are great resistance to chemotherapy. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of high-dose radiotherapy (RT) for LGGs with MGMT-non-pM. METHODS: 268 patients with newly diagnosed adult supratentorial LGGs from the multicenter Chinese Glioma Cooperative Group (CGCG) received postoperative RT during 2005–2018. MGMT promoter methylation analysis was conducted by pyrosequencing in all patients. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed using the Cox regression to determine the prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). RT dose–response on MGMT status defined subtypes was analyzed. RESULTS: On univariate analysis, the following were statistically significant favorable factors for both PFS and OS: oligodendrogliomas(p = 0.002 and p = 0.005), high-dose RT (> 54 Gy) (p = 0.021 and p = 0.029) and 1p/19q codeletion (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001). On multivariate analysis, RT dose (> 54 Gy vs. ≤ 54 Gy) and IDH mutation were independently prognostic markers for OS (HR, 0.47; 95%CI, 0.22–0.98; p = 0.045; and HR, 0.44; 95%CI, 0.21–0.96; p = 0.038, respectively) and PFS (HR, 0.48; 95%CI, 0.26–0.90; p = 0.022; and HR, 0.51; 95%CI, 0.26–0.98; p = 0.044, respectively). High-dose RT was associated with longer OS (HR, 0.56; 95%CI, 0.32–0.96; p = 0.036) and PFS (HR, 0.58; 95%CI, 0.35–0.96; p = 0.033) than low-dose RT in MGMT-non-pM subtype. In contrast, no significant difference in either OS (p = 0.240) or PFS (p = 0.395) was observed with high-dose RT in the MGMT-pM subtype. CONCLUSIONS: High-dose RT (> 54 Gy) is an independently protective factor for LGGs and is associated with improved survival in patients with MGMT-non-pM. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13014-021-01878-3.