AB023. Early diagnosis and treatment lead to improve survival of glioblastoma patients.

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Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the worst prognostic cancers and one of the reasons is that GBM patients rapidly deteriorated and half of them had a Karnofsky performance status (KPS) with 70 or less at the initial presentation. We discuss the significance of early diagnosis and treatment to the clinical outcomes of GBM patients. Data of IDH-wildtype GBM patients treated at our institution between 2010 and 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients were classified into early or late diagnosis groups with a threshold of 14 days from initial symptoms. Also, patients were divided into early, intermediate, and late surgery groups with thresholds of 21 and 35 days. Patients were also divided into two groups: neurosurgeon and non-neurosurgeon groups, based on the primary doctor whom patients sought for an initial evaluation. Representative symptoms and patient prognosis were examined. Of 153 patients, 72 and 81 were classified into the early and late diagnosis groups. The proportion of patients with preoperative KPS scores ≥90 was 48.6% and 29.6% in the early and late diagnosis groups (P=0.01). Median overall survival was significantly longer in the early surgery group (n=43) than in the late surgery group (n=86) (28.4 vs. 18.7 months, P=0.006). The neurosurgeon group exhibited a significantly shorter duration from the first hospital visit to the first surgery than the non-neurosurgeon group (18 vs. 29 days, P<0.001). Furthermore, the overall survival of the neurosurgeon group was significantly more prolonged than that of the non-neurosurgeon group (22.9 vs. 14.0 months, P=0.04). Early diagnosis and surgery within 3 weeks from the initial symptoms are associated with improved patient survival. Early GBM treatment will be beneficial for patients with GBM. A short duration from the first hospital visit to the first surgery is essential in enhancing GBM patient prognosis.