Ten-year survival in glioblastoma. A systematic review

Glioblastoma (GBM) is among the most deadly neoplasms associated with one of the worst 5-year overall survival (OS) rates among all human cancers. The aim of this systematic review is to present all cases with OS of a decade or more and to perform a descriptive analysis of the group. This systematic review was conducted in compliance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. A comprehensive search for relevant articles was performed on PubMed, Embase and Google Scholar for a period until June 10, 2016, using the following search words: glioblastoma multiforme, glioblastoma, GBM, long-term survival/survivors. Reports containing cases with the long-term survival of 10 years or longer were included in the review. The search produced 36 studies with 162 cases published in the years 1950-2014. The rate of long survivors in the cohort studied was established 0.76%. Mean age at diagnosis, OS and PFS were 31.1 ± 11.1, 15.9 ± 6.3, 11.9 ± 5.6 years respectively. Total and subtotal resections were found in 82 and 58 patients respectively. Nine cases received a biopsy alone. No statistical differences were found in a comparison of PFS, OS and age between total and subtotal resection groups. A regression analysis showed a significant correlation between PFS and OS, with an inverse relationship stated between age at diagnosis and OS. The 10-year survival rate in the cohort studied with GBM was estimated 0.71%. OS was positively correlated with the length of PFS and inversely related with age at diagnosis.