Date of Award

Spring 4-19-2024

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Medical Science (MMSc)

First Advisor

Mary Michele Barden, MD

Abstract

Glioblastoma is the most common malignant primary brain tumor in adults. This disease has a dismal prognosis with a median overall survival between 12-18 months. Recent analyses of salvage therapies for recurrence suggest that reirradiation may improve survival. A possible adverse effect is radiation-induced neurocognitive decline. There is a dearth of literature investigating neuroprotective strategies, like using memantine. Our aim is to investigate whether memantine protects neurocognitive function in this population, with an additional goal to show that memantine does not reduce overall and progression free survival. Subjects were randomly assigned to reirradiation plus memantine or reirradiation alone, and the Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to compare the median difference from baseline in the Hopkins scores at 24 weeks. Median progression free and overall survival were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier analysis. This study may provide insight on improving quality of life and reducing caregiver burden and corticosteroid usage.

Comments

This is an open access thesis.

Open Access

This Article is Open Access

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