In glioblastoma patients does age at diagnosis have an impact on survival?

Abstract

Background: Despite being rare, glioblastoma has increased its incidence, with a subjective perception that this increase is due to a global increase in incidence, and to an increase in less common age groups. The vital prognosis remains poor even with some therapeutic advances, being worse at older ages, raising questions about its effectiveness in this age group. It was our aim to assess whether there really was a decrease in the age of onset of glioblastoma and whether older patients had a real benefit from the institution of treatment. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical records of patients diagnosed with glioblastoma between 2011 and 2021. We used the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test to assess survival. Results: From the triennium 2011-2013 to 2019-2021, the number of patients diagnosed and treated increased 25.5% from 141 to 177, with a trend in the age group 65-74 years. The progression-free survival between these triennium increased from 9.11 to 13.60 months, p value <0.001, with the overall survival remaind the same. Age was a prognostic factor, with patients 75-79 and >80 years with 12.36 and 11.57 months overall survival respectively, versus younger patients with 15.55 months overall survival, p<0.001. Conclusions: There has been an increase in incidence of glioblastoma in the last 10 years. Older age was associated with worse prognosis regardless treatment.