Association Between the Extent of Resection and Prognosis in Adult Patients With WHO Grade III Gliomas: a Population-based Study

Abstract PurposeThe role of surgical resection in the treatment of anaplastic glioma is poorly understood. The aim of the present retrospective study was to clarify the survival of patients with anaplastic gliomas.MethodsWe utilized the SEER database to assess the association between prognostic and demographic data, tumor characteristics, and treatment factors in adult patients with anaplastic glioma. Overall survival and cause-specific survival were analyzed using multivariable Cox regression and competing risk regression, respectively.ResultsA total of 3979 patients with anaplastic glioma who had undergone surgical intervention were included in the analysis. Patients who underwent gross total resection (GTR) had significantly better 5-year and 10-year overall survival (OS) (59.9% vs. 44.0%, 45.0% vs. 29.4%, p < 0.001) than those who did not. The 5-year and 10-year cumulative incidence rates of cancer-specific death in the GTR group were lower than those in the corresponding N-GTR group (36.6% vs.51.9%, 49.9% vs. 65.5%, p < 0.001). Multivariable analysis identified GTR as an independent significant predictor for prolonged OS (HR:0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.65-0.79, P<0.05) and cause-specific survival (CSS) (HR:0.72, 95% CI 0.65-0.80, P0.05), except for tumor location and histologic type groups.ConclusionsWhile the survival of patients with anaplastic glioma remains poor, GTR is associated with increased OS and CSS compared to N-GTR.