Role of postoperative tumor volume in patients with MGMT-unmethylated glioblastoma

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the association between postoperative tumor volume and overall survival (OS) of O ⁶ -methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT)-unmethylated glioblastoma patients. Methods: One hundred-twenty-six patients with MGMT-unmethylated glioblastoma who were treated either with surgical resection or needle biopsy between 2006 and 2015 were included in this retrospective cohort. Pre- and postcontrast T1 weighted images were evaluated in order to determine pre- and postoperative contrast-enhancing tumor volumes (CE-TV). Cox regression models adjusted for other significant prognostic factors were used to investigate the association between postoperative tumor volume and survival. Results: Complete resection of CE-TV was significantly associated with longer OS in the univariate analysis (HR 0.61; 95% CI 0.40–0.94; p = 0.02). However, this fact could not be confirmed after adjusting the model for other relevant prognostic factors (HR 1.01; 95% CI 0.65–1.55; p = 0.962). Postoperative CE-TV was significantly associated with survival in both univariate (HR: 1.04; 95% CI 1.025–1.055; p < 0.001) and multivariate analyses (HR: 1.027; 95% CI 1.005–1.049; p = 0.014). Conclusions: Although complete resection of tumor tissue was not significantly associated with longer OS in MGMT-unmethylated GBM patients, maximum safe resection should always be attempted, since postoperative tumor volume is strongly associated with OS.