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This research analyzes factors affecting survival in glioblastoma using data from SEER and TCGA cohorts.

July 10, 2026Open Access

Molecular and Treatment-Associated Correlates of Survival in Glioblastoma: Complementary Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) and The Cancer Genome Atlas-Glioblastoma (TCGA-GBM) Cohort Analyses

Key Points

This research analyzes factors affecting survival in glioblastoma using data from SEER and TCGA cohorts.
Evaluated 53,432 SEER cases from 2000-2022 stratified by diagnosis era and therapy.
Analyzed 512 TCGA IDH-wildtype cases based on MGMT methylation status.
Applied Kaplan-Meier, log-rank, and multivariable Cox models for survival analysis.
Median overall survival increased across diagnostic eras: 7.0, 9.0, and 10.0 months.
Recorded trimodality therapy yielded longer median survival (14.0 vs 4.0 months).
In TCGA, median OS was 15.7 months for MGMT-methylated versus 12.5 months for unmethylated (p=0.012), although not significant after adjustment (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.63-1.08, p=0.162).

Abstract

Background Glioblastoma (GBM) carries a poor prognosis. We evaluated population-level and tumor-level determinants of survival in parallel Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) and The Cancer Genome Atlas-Glioblastoma (TCGA-GBM) cohorts. Methods SEER cases (histology 9440/3, 2000-2022) were stratified by diagnosis era and registry-recorded trimodality therapy. TCGA-GBM IDH-wildtype cases were analyzed by MGMT promoter methylation status. Kaplan-Meier, log-rank, and multivariable Cox models were applied. Results SEER included 53,432 cases (48,715 deaths), and TCGA IDH-wildtype included 512 cases. Median overall survival (OS) rose modestly across eras (7.0, 9.0, 10.0 months) and remained independently associated with survival after adjustment. Recorded trimodality therapy was associated with longer median OS (14.0 vs 4.0 months). In TCGA, median OS was 15.7 vs 12.5 months for MGMT-methylated vs unmethylated GBM (p=0.012), but MGMT methylation was not significant after multivariable adjustment (HR 0.83, 95% CI 0.63-1.08, p=0.162). Conclusions Era-associated survival gains persisted after adjustment, suggesting that multimodality therapy uptake explains only part of population-level improvements. MGMT methylation predicted unadjusted but not adjusted survival in IDH-wildtype GBM, consistent with known age confounding.

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