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Wefel, Jeffrey S.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3584-023X

A5002343712 | I1343551460

Mayo Clinic

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Citations 39

Alliance A072301: A phase III trial of radiotherapy followed by adjuvant temozolomide in combination with vorasidenib vs placebo in IDH -mutated newly diagnosed grade 3 astrocytoma (VORTEX).

Journal of Clinical Oncology | May 28, 2026 | Volume: 44 | Issue: 16_suppl | Pages: No page available

10.1200/jco.2026.44.16_suppl.tps2103

TPS2103 Background: Treatment for newly diagnosed IDH-mutant astrocytoma, WHO grade 3, is based on the results of the CATNON study, demonstrating benefit of radiotherapy followed by 12 months of adjuvant temozolomide. While temozolomide and radiotherapy significantly improved survival, the prognosis for these patients remains limited and more effective therapies are required. This trial will evaluate the benefit of the addition of the IDH1 and IDH-2 inhibitor vorasidenib to adjuvant temozolomide versus placebo following standard radiotherapy to evaluate possible improvement in outcomes. Methods: Alliance A072301 (NCT07215910) is a multicenter, double-blinded phase 3 randomized study to determine if the addition of vorasidenib to adjuvant temozolomide significantly improves progression-free survival (PFS), based on blinded central review in patients with newly diagnosed, IDH-mutant astrocytoma, WHO grade 3. Key inclusion criteria include age ≥ 12 years old, histological confirmation of astrocytoma (absence of 1p/19q codeletion), WHO grade 3, presence of any IDH mutation, plan for radiation and chemotherapy and surgery within 6 months. The presence of CDKN2A/B homozygous deletion, spinal or leptomeningeal disease, as well as prior chemotherapy, cranial irradiation or IDH inhibitor therapy, is exclusionary. 408 patients will be randomized 1:1 to receive vorasidenib 40 mg or placebo daily with 12 cycles of temozolomide following radiotherapy and then continued as monotherapy until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Stratification factors include age (< 40 years old vs ≥ 40 years old) and residual disease (< 2 cm vs ≥ 2 cm). Tumor assessments with MRI will be every three months for the first two years, every four months for the next two years and then every six months thereafter as per blinded independent central review using the Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology (RANO) 2.0 criteria. Key secondary endpoints include PFS by local review, time to next treatment, safety and tolerability, quality of life measures. Exploratory measures will include seizure frequency. The trial will have 85% power to detect a hazard ratio of 0.625 with one-sided type I error rate of 0.025. Enrollment for the trial commenced February 2026. Support: U10CA180821, U10CA180882, U24CA196171. https://acknowledgments.alliancefound.org.
Cancer treatment–related cognitive impairment

Neuro-Oncology Advances | March 19, 2026 | Volume: 8 | Issue: Supplement_5 | Pages: 37-57

10.1093/noajnl/vdag064 | PMID 42338462

Abstract There is a growing number of cancer survivors given improvement in early cancer diagnosis, therapeutics, and supportive care strategies. Cognitive impairment is among the most common and clinically significant symptoms managed by cancer survivors, which negatively impacts quality of life, functional and occupational status for patients and their care partners. Cancer-related cognitive impairment is often multifactorial—impacted by patient and cancer-specific factors. For systemic (non-CNS) malignancies, cognitive impairment has been identified in up to 75%, depending on cohort, which persists in up to 35% of patients in the years following initial treatment. The most common areas of impairment include memory and processing speed, and executive function. These adverse effects of cancer treatment have been reported after chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. This review will summarize existing knowledge regarding the nature and pattern of cognitive changes, mechanisms and risk factors underlying these changes, and biomarkers to support identification of this adverse consequence of cancer therapies.
NCMP-29. The risk for cognitive impairment differs in male and female cancer survivors

Neuro-Oncology | November 11, 2025 | Volume: 27 | Issue: Supplement_5 | Pages: v318-v318

10.1093/neuonc/noaf201.1258

Abstract BACKGROUND Understanding long-term sequelae of cancer care is critical. Cognitive impairment is a common and disabling survivorship issue. Because sex influences tumor biology, therapy exposure, and dementia risk, we examined whether cancer care for a prior malignancy alters late-life cognitive outcomes differently in males and females. METHODS We assessed adults ≥50 years, cognitively normal at study entry, from a longitudinal, population-based cohort (Mayo Clinic Study of Aging). Participants were linked to our institutional cancer registry (excluding non-melanoma skin cancers). Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia were adjudicated by consensus. We fitted multivariable Cox proportional-hazards models to estimate how prevalent cancer diagnosis influenced the risk of developing MCI/dementia. Sex-specific effects were determined by incorporating a cancer×sex interaction term and by generating separate hazard ratios. Analyses were controlled for age, APOE4 status, education, and presence of vascular/metabolic conditions. RESULTS 5793 MCSA participants (female: 49.4%, APOE4 positive: 27.5%) were included in the study, with a mean age of 73 years at study entry. Incident MCI was recorded in 866 participants, and 737 were diagnosed with incident dementia. About 20% (n=1176) of the cohort had a cancer diagnosis, most commonly prostate (n=423) and breast (n=277). There was no independent relationship between history of cancer and risk for MCI or dementia. We found that males with cancer had an increased risk for MCI (HR 1.28, 95% CI 1.04-1.57, p=0.003) and dementia (HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.04-1.6, p=0.053). Conversely, females with cancer had a lower risk for MCI (HR 0.79, 95% CI 0.61-1.01, p=0.063), although this was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS Our data suggests male cancer survivors may be more susceptible to cognitive impairment, independent of age, APOE4 status, education, and vascular/metabolic burden. Elucidating the hormonal, treatment-related, and systemic pathways driving this should be a priority for future mechanistic studies.
Alzheimer’s Disease Neuropathologic Change in Cognitively Impaired Prostate Cancer Survivors (P1-6.008)

Neurology | April 7, 2025 | Volume: 104 | Issue: 7_Supplement_1 | Pages: No page available

10.1212/wnl.0000000000212210

CODEL (Alliance-N0577; EORTC-26081/22086; NRG-1071; NCIC-CEC-2): Phase III Randomized Study of RT vs. RT+TMZ vs. TMZ for Newly Diagnosed 1p/19q-Codeleted Anaplastic Oligodendroglial Tumors. Analysis of Patients Treated on the Original Protocol Design (PL02

Neurology | December 7, 2023 | Volume: 86 | Issue: 16_supplement | Pages: No page available

10.1212/wnl.86.16_supplement.pl02.005

BIOM-03. LACK OF CORRELATION OF MR-DETERMINED WHITE MATTER INJURY(WMI)WITH NEUROCOGNITIVE FUNCTION (NCF)6 MONTHS FOLLOWING WBRT+/-HIPPOCAMPAL AVOIDANCE(HA)+MEMANTINE:SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF NRG ONCOLOGY NRGCC001

Neuro-Oncology | November 11, 2023 | Volume: 25 | Issue: Supplement_5 | Pages: v4-v4

10.1093/neuonc/noad179.0014

Abstract PURPOSE Previous analysis of NRG-CC001 suggested pre-treatment WMI volume was a significant imaging-biomarker predictor of post-treatment neurocognitive decline at 4-and 12-months following HA-WBRT+Memantine. This suggested patients with greater pre-treatment WMI were more susceptible to neurocognitive decline, specifically when undergoing HA-WBRT, but not standard-WBRT. The current analysis examined the relationship between changes in MR-determined WMI and NCF 6-months following WBRT+memantine+/-HA. METHODS NCF-testing was performed at baseline, 2, 4, 6, and 12 months post-WBRT, and included Hopkins Verbal Learning Test–Revised (HVLT-R), Trail Making Test (TMT) Parts A and B, and Controlled Oral Word Association (COWA). Pre-treatment WMI was measured by FLAIR-volume corrected for whole brain volume and corrected for the FLAIR volume associated with metastases (met vol) (FLAIR-volume/(whole brain volume–met-vol). Pearson correlation coefficients were used to assess the correlation between pre-treatment WMI and change from baseline to 6-months for each standardized NCF score. RESULTS Of the 518 randomized patients, 443 (217 patients WBRT+Memantine and 226 HA-WBRT+Memantine) had WMI data available at baseline, and of those, 162 patients (89 patients WBRT+Memantine and 73 HA-WBRT+Memantine) had both baseline and 6-month imaging available. For these patients, there was only a trend toward significance for change in corrected FLAIR-volume from baseline to 6-months (p = 0.174) but no significant change in met-vol (p = 0.438) or whole brain volume (p = 0.977). The change in standardized TMT Part A and B and the change in composite 6-month change scores were moderately correlated with change in corrected FLAIR volume adjusted for met-vol but only in the WBRT+Memantine arm (rho=-0.35, -0.34, -0.39 and p-value = 0.003, 0.006, 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Despite an increase in post-WBRT MR-WMI at 6-months, analysis did not show strong correlation between NCF and MR-WMI as determined by FLAIR-volume change between baseline and 6-months. Similar analyses are underway for the NRG-CC003 imaging data.
RADT-01. BASELINE HIPPOCAMPAL VOLUME AS A PREDICTOR OF NEUROCOGNITIVE CHANGES AFTER WBRT OR HA-WBRT: SECONDARY ANALYSIS OF NRG ONCOLOGY CC001

Neuro-Oncology | November 11, 2023 | Volume: 25 | Issue: Supplement_5 | Pages: v48-v48

10.1093/neuonc/noad179.0190

Abstract PURPOSE Hippocampal volume (HV) is a predictor of neurocognitive function (NCF) in neurodegenerative disease. The role of patient-specific anatomic variables has not been well investigated in patients with brain metastases. This work aimed to evaluate HV at baseline and 6 months as a predictor of NCF and differential benefit from HA-WBRT for patients enrolled on CC001. MATERIALS HV was calculated at baseline and 6 months. HV at baseline and 6 months were correlated with baseline and 2, 4, and 6-month NCF scores (HVLT-R Total and Delayed Recall, Delayed Recognition, TMT Parts A and B, and COWA) using Pearson correlation. Correlation was defined as weak if ρ ≤0.35. A cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the impact of baseline HV on time to NCF failure. RESULTS Of 518 patients randomized on CC001, 277 had baseline imaging, and 135 had 6-month imaging. However, only 87 patients were analyzable at both baseline and 6-month periods. At baseline, HV was not significantly associated with NCF score for any measure (p-value range: 0.06-0.72). Additionally, there was no association between baseline HV and time to NCF failure (p = 0.16). Additionally, the impact of treatment arm allocation on HV was examined but found to be non-significant (p = 0.06). Lastly, baseline HV and NCF scores were noted to have weak correlation at 2, 4, 6, and 12 month timepoints (ρ: range, -0.17-0.15; P-value range, 0.04-0.98). At 6 months, the correlation between HV, baseline NCF change, and 6 month standardized NCF change were also noted to be weak (ρ: range, 0.05-0.16; P-value range, 0.06-0.76). CONCLUSIONS Radiotherapy is known to have deleterious effects on neurocognition. In neurodegenerative disease, HV and rate of HV change are known predictors for NCF. However, baseline HV is not an independent predictor of neurocognitive changes after WBRT or HA-WBRT for patients with brain metastases.
Characterization of recurrence patterns and outcomes of medulloblastoma in adults: The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center experience

Neuro-Oncology Advances | April 13, 2023 | Volume: 5 | Issue: 1 | Pages: No page available

10.1093/noajnl/vdad032 | PMID 37114244

Abstract Background Medulloblastoma in adults is rare and treatment decisions are largely driven from pediatric literature. We sought to characterize recurrent medulloblastoma in adults. Methods From a single-institution dataset of 200 adult patients diagnosed with medulloblastoma during 1978–2017, those with recurrence were analyzed for clinical features, treatment, and outcome. Results Of the 200 patients, 82 (41%) with median age of 29 years (18–59) had recurrence after a median follow-up time of 8.4 years (95% CI = 7.1, 10.3). Of these, 30 (37%) were standard-risk, 31 (38%) were high-risk, and 21 (26%) had unknown-risk diseases at the time of initial diagnosis. Forty-eight (58%) presented with recurrence outside the posterior fossa, of whom 35 (43%) had distant recurrence only. Median Progression-free survival (PFS) and OS from initial surgery were 33.5 and 62.4 months, respectively. Neither PFS nor OS from initial diagnosis differed between the standard-risk and high-risk groups in those who experience recurrence (P = .505 and .463, respectively). Median OS from first recurrence was 20.3 months, also with no difference between the standard-risk and high-risk groups (P = .518). Recurrences were treated with combinations of re-resection (20 patients; 25%), systemic chemotherapy (61 patients; 76%), radiation (29 patients; 36%), stem cell transplant (6 patients; 8%), and intrathecal chemotherapy (4 patients; 5%). Patients who received radiation at recurrence had better OS (32.9 months) than those who did not (19.2 months) (P = .034). Conclusions Recurrent medulloblastoma in adults has a poor prognosis irrespective of initial risk stratification. Recurrence commonly arises outside the posterior fossa years after initial diagnosis.
NCOG-03. IMPACT OF THE RATE OF RADIOGRAPHIC RESPONSE (RR) OF BRAIN METASTASES (BM) TO WHOLE BRAIN RADIATION THERAPY (WBRT) ON NEUROCOGNITIVE FUNCTION (NCF) ON NRG-CC001

Neuro-Oncology | November 14, 2022 | Volume: 24 | Issue: Supplement_7 | Pages: vii197-vii197

10.1093/neuonc/noac209.756

Abstract BACKGROUND The assessment of BM response to WBRT and its impact on NCF in clinical trials has been limited by lack of standardized imaging protocols. NRG-CC001 is a randomized clinical trial requiring pre-specified MRI protocols at baseline and 6-months, providing a uniform dataset to investigate if RR correlates with NCF changes. METHODS NRG-CC001 randomized patients with BM to hippocampal avoidance WBRT (HA-WBRT) or WBRT. NCF was analyzed using 6-month standardized change scores and deterioration, defined using the reliable change index. Chi-square and t-tests were used for pretreatment characteristic comparisons. Inter-rater reliability between central and institutional assessment of RR was assessed with weighted kappa, κ. Linear regression was used to test trends in NCF change scores across types of response and multivariable logistic regression was used to test the association of RR to NCF deterioration. RESULTS 149 and 135 patients were evaluable for RR and NCF assessment, respectively. Pretreatment characteristics were well-balanced, except for post-high school education (70.6% HA-WBRT vs. 52.5% WBRT, p=0.023). Inter-rater reliability between central and institutional assessment of RR was fair (κ=0.36). There was no difference between arms in RR (p=0.41) with overall rates of 14.1% CR, 42.2% PR, 17% SD, and 26.7% PD. Patients with CR had improved 6-month NCF change as measured by HVLT-R Total Recall (p=0.0005), HVLT-R Delayed Recall (p=0.0003), HVLT-R Delayed Recognition (p=0.011), TMT-B (p=0.033), COWA (p=0.016), and Clinical Trial Battery Composite score (p=0.0011). Multivariable analysis demonstrated less deterioration in HVLT-R Delayed Recall for CR (p=0.019) and PR (p=0.0086) vs. SD/PD and HVLT-R Recognition for PR (p=0.031) vs. SD/PD. CONCLUSIONS HA-WBRT and WBRT result in similar RR at 6-months. CR or PR is associated with better NCF preservation. This suggests investigation into treatment escalation for patients with SD/PD may provide further NCF benefit along with HA-WBRT and memantine.Grant support from NCI-UG1CA189867 and U24CA180803.
Lessons learned from proton vs photon radiation therapy for glioblastoma signal-finding trial

Neuro-Oncology | January 31, 2022 | Volume: 24 | Issue: 5 | Pages: 851-851

10.1093/neuonc/noac028 | PMID 35460425