Malignant glioma diagnosed earlier in men
Key takeaways:
- Men were significantly younger and underwent surgery faster after diagnosis compared with women.
- No sex-related differences were observed with respect to recurrence rates or survival.
An analysis of adults with malignant glioma revealed that men were diagnosed at a younger age and women had worse preoperative status, but researchers found no other sex-related differences or clinical advantage.
“Based on epidemiological data, women have a lower incidence of cancer and better therapeutic response,” Maria Goldberg, MD, MSc, neurosurgery resident at the Technical University Munich School of Medicine, in Germany, and colleagues wrote in Brain and Spine. “A similar trend has been observed in neuro-oncology wherein the ratio of males to females diagnosed is estimated to be approximately 1.5 to 1.”
As research in this area is limited, Goldberg and colleagues sought to identify clinical characteristics and sex-related differences in malignant glioma epidemiology and outcomes among patients treated at a single center.
Their study included 621 individuals (59.9% men) who underwent surgery for grade IV gliomas between 2010 and 2020 at Technical University. Clinical characteristics were subdivided by sex and subsequently analyzed by age, risk factors, preoperative and postoperative outcomes, anatomical localization, extent of resection, overall survival, recurrence-free survival and adjuvant treatment.
According to the results, men were significantly younger, underwent surgery faster after diagnosis (an average of 10 days earlier) and logged a slightly higher incidence of surgical complications compared with women.
Data showed that the median diagnosis age was 64 years for men and 69 years for women, with a significantly larger number of men diagnosed prior to age 60 years compared with women (68% vs. 32%), as well as from 60 to 75 years old (58% vs. 42%), with women having a worse preoperative performance status than men.
The researchers additionally reported that 237 men and 126 women received standard post-surgical treatments including adjuvant radiation and chemotherapy with temozolomide, with no difference in survival between groups. They also found no difference in time recurrence between that observed in 191 men and 118 women.
“The understanding and addressing of sociocultural factors are crucial in elucidating gender differences in healthcare access and outcomes,” Goldberg and colleagues wrote.