Recurrence patterns and clinical outcomes in adult cerebellar glioblastoma

Cerebellar glioblastoma in adults is a rare brain tumor with poor outcomes. This study aimed to assess the clinical characteristics, genetic features, and prognosis of a series of cerebellar glioblastomas, with special attention to their recurrence patterns.

We retrospectively analyzed patients who underwent treatment between 2008 and 2023. The patient characteristics, treatment methods, genetic features, and prognoses were assessed.

Among 274 cases of histological glioblastomas, eleven patients with cerebellar glioblastomas were identified. Pathological results revealed microvascular proliferation and/or necrosis in all cases. All patients underwent surgery and local radiotherapy combined with temozolomide chemotherapy. The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 15.3 months and 22.8 months, respectively. Subventricular zone involvement was recognized in ten patients. Of the eight patients who experienced recurrence, seven had distant or disseminated recurrence, and only one experienced local recurrence. None of the tumors harbored mutations in the IDH1/2, H3F3A, or TERT promoters. Three patients showed negative expression of O⁶-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), and four patients showed positive expression.

In our cohort, cerebellar glioblastomas showed clinical characteristics such as recurrence patterns and genetic features such as IDH, H3F3A, and TERT promoter regions that differed from those of typical supratentorial gliomas. Further studies are necessary to fully elucidate the clinical characteristics.