OUTCOME AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUNG ADULT PATIENTS WITH NEWLY DIAGNOSED PRIMARY GLIOBLASTOMA: A STUDY OF THE SOCIETY OF AUSTRIAN NEUROONCOLOGY (SANO)

Background Young age is well-known as favorable prognostic factor for patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). We reviewed the outcome and molecular tumor characteristics of “young” adult patients with newly diagnosed GBM treated in two Austrian Neurooncology centers. Patients and methods Data of patients with histologically proven GBM diagnosed between age 18 and 40 were retrospectively analysed. All cases presented as newly diagnosed GBM without previous history of neurological disease. All were treated with standard first line therapy. IDH1-R132H mutation status was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Moreover, tumour samples were tested for MGMT promoter methylation using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MS-PCR). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) and time to tumour progression (TTP). Results We included 70 patients (36 men and 34 women; 47 from Vienna, 23 from Linz) with a median age of 33 (range 18 to 40 years) in our study. IDH1-R132H mutations were detected in 22/56 (39.3%) cases and MGMT promoter methylation in 33/54 (61.1%) cases with available tissue samples. IDH1 mutation was highly significantly associated with MGMT promoter methylation (p Conclusions We found a high frequency of IDH1 mutations and MGMT promoter methylation among young adult patients with primary GBM that may contribute to the generally favourable outcome associated with young age in glioblastoma patients. The social and economic coverage of glioma patients remains an unsolved socio-ethical problem. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.