The Efficacy and Safety of Intraoperative Radiotherapy in the Treatment of Recurrent High-Grade Glioma: A Single-Center Prospective Study

High-grade gliomas are treated following a standard protocol; however, tumor recurrence is almost inevitable. Recurrent high-grade gliomas have an extremely poor prognosis, and there are no clear treatment guidelines. In this stud, we evaluated the safety and effectiveness of intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) for recurrent high-grade glioma. In this prospective randomized study begun in April 2018, patients ≥18 years of age with a Karnofsky Performance Status >50 and recurrent high-grade glioma were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to tumor resection and IORT or tumor resection alone. Twenty-two patients were allocated to the IORT group and 21 to receive surgery only (operation group). Clinical data of 42 enrolled patients were involved in the analysis. The progression-free survival of the IORT group was 9.6 months and of the operation group was 7.3 months (P = 0.018), and the overall survival of the 2 groups was 13.5 months and 10.2 months, respectively (P = 0.054). Univariate and multivariate analysis indicated that preoperative Karnofsky Performance Status >70 and IORT were protective factors for patients with recurrent high-grade glioma. A patient who underwent conventional fractionated radiotherapy within 6 months of receiving IORT died on the ninth day after undergoing tumor resection and IORT because of severe cerebral edema. The total operation time was longer in the IORT group, but there were no differences in intraoperative bleeding or adverse events between the 2 groups. IORT with low-energy radiography at a dose of 30–40 Gy is generally safe and effective for patients with recurrent glioma. However, IORT should not be performed for patients who have received conventional fractionated radiotherapy within 6 months.