From the Guidelines
The 5-year survival rate for glioblastoma is approximately 10%. This means that only about 10 out of 100 people diagnosed with glioblastoma will survive for 5 years or longer after their initial diagnosis, as reported in a study published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 1. Glioblastoma is an aggressive type of brain cancer (grade IV astrocytoma) that has a poor prognosis despite standard treatment approaches. The median survival time is typically 12-15 months with standard treatment, which includes maximal safe surgical resection followed by concurrent radiation therapy and chemotherapy with temozolomide.
Some key factors that influence individual prognosis include:
- Age
- Functional status
- Extent of tumor removal
- Certain molecular markers like MGMT promoter methylation status, as discussed in the Annals of Oncology 1 The poor survival rate is due to several factors, including the tumor's rapid growth, its infiltrative nature that makes complete surgical removal nearly impossible, its resistance to current therapies, and the blood-brain barrier limiting drug delivery. According to a study published in Neuro-Oncology, the current standard of care for newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients involves maximum safe surgical resection, followed by radiotherapy plus concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide, but this treatment affords only a median survival of 14 – 16 months, and fewer than 10% of patients survive 5 years beyond diagnosis 1.
It's worth noting that some studies have explored alternative treatment schedules, such as a 21/28 dose-dense regimen or a 50-mg/m2 continuous daily schedule, but the results have shown no improvement with the post-RT dose-dense temozolomide arm when compared with the standard temozolomide arm, as reported in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network 1. Overall, the prognosis for glioblastoma remains poor, and the 5-year survival rate of approximately 10% highlights the need for continued research and development of more effective treatments.
From the Research
Glioblastoma 5-Year Survival Rate
- The 5-year survival rate for glioblastoma is approximately <10% 2
- Another study reported a 5-year survival rate of approximately 4.7% 3
- A review of treatment modalities for glioblastoma reported a 5-year survival rate of 5% 4
- A study on the effect of long-term adjuvant temozolomide chemotherapy on primary glioblastoma patient survival reported a 5-year survival rate of 7% in both treatment groups 5
- A case report of a patient with glioblastoma who survived for over 20 years reported that the 5-year overall survival rate for glioblastoma is less than 10% and has remained unchanged for more than 50 years 6
Factors Affecting Survival
- Age, performance status, grade, and specific markers (such as MGMT methylation, mutation of IDH1, IDH2 or TERT, 1p19q codeletion, overexpression of EGFR) are prognostic factors involved in survival 4
- The extent of resection and the use of adjuncts to surgery, such as cortical mapping and 5-ALA fluorescence, may also impact survival 4
- Long-term adjuvant temozolomide chemotherapy may be beneficial for progression-free survival and 2-year survival rate in glioblastoma patients 5