Sex is an important prognostic factor for glioblastoma but not for nonglioblastoma.

Journal Article (Journal Article)

BACKGROUND: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and most malignant glioma. Nonglioblastoma (non-GBM) gliomas (WHO Grades II and III) are invasive and also often fatal. The goal of this study is to determine whether sex differences exist in glioma survival. METHODS: Data were obtained from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) for years 2010 to 2014. GBM (WHO Grade IV; N = 2073) and non-GBM (WHO Grades II and III; N = 2963) were defined using the histology grouping of the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States. Non-GBM was divided into oligodendrogliomas/mixed gliomas and astrocytomas. Sex differences in survival were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and multivariable Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for known prognostic variables. RESULTS: There was a female survival advantage in patients with GBM both in the unadjusted (P = .048) and adjusted (P = .003) models. Unadjusted, median survival was 20.1 months (95% CI: 18.7-21.3 months) for women and 17.8 months (95% CI: 16.9-18.7 months) for men. Adjusted, median survival was 20.4 months (95% CI: 18.9-21.6 months) for women and 17.5 months (95% CI: 16.7-18.3 months) for men. When stratifying by age group (18-55 vs 56+ years at diagnosis), this female survival advantage appeared only in the older group, adjusting for covariates (P = .017). Women (44.1%) had a higher proportion of methylated MGMT (O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase) than men (38.4%). No sex differences were found for non-GBM. CONCLUSIONS: Using the NCDB data, there was a statistically significant female survival advantage in GBM, but not in non-GBM.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Gittleman, H; Ostrom, QT; Stetson, LC; Waite, K; Hodges, TR; Wright, CH; Wright, J; Rubin, JB; Berens, ME; Lathia, J; Connor, JR; Kruchko, C; Sloan, AE; Barnholtz-Sloan, JS

Published Date

  • December 2019

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 6 / 6

Start / End Page

  • 451 - 462

PubMed ID

  • 31832215

Pubmed Central ID

  • PMC6899055

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 2054-2577

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1093/nop/npz019

Language

  • eng

Conference Location

  • England