First therapeutic report of temozolomide to treat human gliomas 1) in 1999.
Methylation of the gene's promoter may play a significant role in carcinogenesis. In patients with glioblastoma multiforme, the methylation state of the MGMT gene determined whether tumor cells would be responsive to temozolomide; if the promoter was methylated, temozolomide was more effective.
Treatment with temozolomide following surgical debulking extends survival rate compared to radiotherapy and debulking alone. However, virtually all glioblastoma patients experience disease progression within 7 to 10 months. Although many salvage treatments, including bevacizumab, rechallenge with temozolomide, and other alkylating agents, have been evaluated, none of these clearly improves survival 2).