Prognosis of older patients with low-grade glioma: A retrospective study

Clinical behavior, treatment parameters, and prognostic factors are less well defined in older adults with low-grade gliomas (LGG). We conducted a two-institution retrospective review of older patients with LGG to better understand disease characteristics and prognosis in this population.

Northwestern University (NU) and The University of Washington (UW) clinical research databases were queried for patients ≥ 50 years of age with a diagnosis of WHO grade II glioma between January 1, 2000 and December 2012 (UW). Medical records were reviewed and data relevant to diagnosis, treatment and outcomes were collected. PFS and OS with respect to prognostic factors were calculated. Log-rank test and multivariate proportional hazards models were calculated for multiple tumor characteristics.

Thirty-five patients with a diagnosis of LGG (WHO grade II) were identified; 15 women and 20 men had a median age of 55 (range 50-78). Fourteen had astrocytomas, fourteen had oligodendrogliomas and seven had oligoastrocytomas. Eight patients had contrast enhancement on neuroimaging, 9 of 21 tested had 1p19q co-deletion and 5 of 14 tested had an IDH1 mutation. Five year PFS was 21% with median PFS of 17 months; 20 patients had died (5 year OS=43%, median OS=48 months). On univariate analysis There was a statistically significant improvement in OS for patients with mixed histology (p=0.001), no midline shift at diagnosis (p=0.002) and with IDH1 mutation (p=0.003).

LGG appear more aggressive in older patients. Treatment following surgical resection should be considered; ongoing studies may clarify the most appropriate treatments for this age group.