The effect of re-operation on survival in patients with recurrent glioblastoma

Treatment options for glioblastoma (GBM) at recurrence have limited efficacy. Re-surgery has been used for confirmation of recurrent disease and to provide relief of symptoms but the real impact on survival is unknown. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for GBM patients followed between 01/2005 and 06/2010 at our Institution. RESULTS: Two hundred and thirty-two patients with recurrent GBM were evaluated. One hundred and two patients (44%) were treated with re-surgery followed by chemotherapy and 130 patients (56%) with chemotherapy alone. In multivariate analysis, no significant effect of re-surgery was found, with age (p=0.001), MGMT methylation (p=0.002) and PFS at 6 months (p=0.0001) being significant prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: Second surgery might have a limited impact in the clinical course of recurrent GBM patients