'The Worst Cancer' Glioblastoma, Identification of Survival Prognostic Factors

Patients with High Cyst Ratio Have Longer Survival Period

Domestic researchers have identified factors that can predict the prognosis of glioblastoma, known as the 'worst cancer' with a 5-year survival rate of less than 10%.

Professor An Seub-devan (corresponding author) of the Department of Neurosurgery at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, and Minju Kim, a medical student at The Catholic University of Korea (first author), announced on the 28th that their research team found that glioblastoma patients with a high proportion of cysts may show better prognosis.

Anseudevan, Professor of Neurosurgery at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital.

Glioblastoma is the most common primary malignant brain tumor, with an average patient survival period of less than two years, leading to active research on prognostic factors. One such factor proposed is the tumor's morphology, particularly the presence of 'cysts,' which are mostly fluid components. However, results have varied across studies, and whether there is a significant correlation with actual prognosis has been controversial.

The research team conducted a study to determine which group shows a better prognosis by classifying patients into cystic and non-cystic groups based on the presence or absence of cysts observed in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. They retrospectively reviewed the records of all patients diagnosed with glioblastoma at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital from August 2008 to December 2020. Out of 254 glioblastoma patients, a total of 145 met the selection criteria, with 16 classified as cystic and 129 as non-cystic.

MRI image of a patient with glioblastoma. Patients in the cystic group (left, A), who have cysts mostly composed of fluid components, showed significantly longer survival periods compared to patients in the non-cystic group.
[Photo by Seoul St. Mary's Hospital]

Using propensity score matching statistics to adjust for other prognostic factors between the two groups, Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that the cystic group had a significantly longer survival period of 28.6 months compared to 18.8 months in the non-cystic group. Multivariate analysis also revealed that the higher the proportion of cysts in the tumor, the significantly longer the patient's survival period.

Professor An said, "This study proves that glioblastoma patients with a high proportion of cysts show better prognosis, which will help improve the accuracy of patient prognosis assessment and guide treatment decisions in the future."

The study results were recently published in the international neurology journal, Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery.

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