Up to half of all people with glioblastomas experience seizures, and it is highly recommended they receive treatment with one of several epilepsy drugs.
A recent study now shows that brain tumor patients who take the seizure drug valproic acid along with standard treatment may live longer than those who take other epilepsy medications to control seizures. The new research is published in the August 31, 2011, online issue of Neurology.
“Despite some limitations, our results suggest that the choice of seizure medications in brain tumor patients should be carefully considered as it may give people a few more months with their loved ones,” said study author Michael Weller, MD, from the University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.
Researchers from the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) Clinical Trials Group analyzed the use of epilepsy drugs by 573 brain tumor patients enrolled in a clinical trial evaluating radiation therapy with and without temozolomide. When treatment started, 175 patients were not taking a seizure drug, while 398 patients were receiving anti-seizure medicine. Of these, 97 were taking valproic acid as their only anti-seizure medication.
Results showed that patients treated with both chemotherapy and radiation fared better. However, those patients who also received valproic acid as medication for seizure prevention had an even more improved outcome. Those 97 patients lived an average of 3 months longer compared to the patients not receiving valproic acid.
Unfortunately, patients receiving valproic acid in addition to temozolomide and radiation therapy were more likely to suffer a decrease in blood platelets and white blood cells. Furthermore, taking valproic acid did not increase survival in the group of patients that received radiation therapy without temozolomide.
Weller said further studies should be conducted on the use of valproic acid and other drugs with a similar mechanism in order to establish why valproic acid may help patients who are receiving radiation therapy and temozolomide live longer.
Source: American Academy of Neurology