Prognostic value of the preoperative immunological profile in patients with glioblastoma
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Updated: Apr 27, 2026
Quantitative Immunohistochemistry of the Cellular Microenvironment in Patient Glioblastoma Resections
Published on: July 31, 2017
Konstantinos Gousias1, Spiridon Voulgaris2, Georgios Vartholomatos3
1Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 25, 53105, Germany ; Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Ioannina, 45500, Greece.
Background:
Aim of our study was to determine the predictive impact of certain serum immunological markers on overall survival (OS) in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
Methods:
We assayed prospectively values of interleukin 2 (IL-2), immunoglobulin G (IgG), C4, CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ cells via flow cytometry, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and radial immunodiffusion in preoperative sera of adult patients with de novo histologically confirmed supratentorial GBM. Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess clinical, laboratory, and treatment prognostic factors for OS.
Results:
Twenty-six consecutive patients were identified with a mean age of 59.6 years. Median follow up was 12 months. Lower IL-2 values (<7.97 pg/ml vs. ≥7.97 pg/ml, P = 0.029) und CD4+ counts (<200 cells/μl vs. ≥200 cells/μl, P < 0.001) correlated significantly with a shorter OS. The independent prognostic relevance of CD4 + counts was confirmed by the multivariate analysis (HR = 0.010, 95% CI 0.001-0.226, P = 0.011). Further independent prognostic factors for OS were type of resection (resection vs. biopsy) and administration of radiotherapy (yes/no).
Conclusion:
Preoperative values IL-2 and CD4+ cells in sera may carry a prognostic impact. Novel diagnostic models prior to histopathological confirmation may be used to predict prognosis of patients with GBM. Future studies should investigate whether targeting immune factors, such as CD4+ and IL-2, may improve the prognosis of patients with GBM.
