Long-term survival in patients with supratentorial glioblastoma

The authors report 11 patients with cerebral glioblastoma who lived at least 5 years after their initial diagnosis. There were 6 female and 5 male; the mean age was 39 years (range 24-55 years). All patients were treated surgically and postoperatively received whole-brain radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Five patients (45%) presented local recurrences after an average interval of 3.9 years from treatment. At average follow-up of 9 years (range 5-14 years), 7 patients (64%) were alive after an average interval of 8.1 years; 4 patients (36%) died from local relapse. Survival was influenced by patient age and, to a lesser degree, by treatment. A review of the literature, together with our own series, suggest that death from recurrence disease is unusual in glioblastoma patients who survive more than 5 years.