Abstract

Glioblastoma is the most frequent and aggressive primary malignant brain tumor in adults. It is considered a fatal disease, and the average survival time is approximately 12 to 18 months.

Objectives: Evaluate risk factors and the survival time in patients diagnosed with glioblastoma.
Materials and methods: A retrospective study was performed at a neurosurgery reference hospital in Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil observing patients who underwent glioblastoma surgery. From the electronic medical records were collected the sociodemographic data, Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS), tumor location and volume. Surgical specimens were evaluated according to protein expression using the Ki-67 index and the date of death was evaluated in the Mortality Information System.
Results: The sample consisted of 25 patients, most were male (52%) and 40% were older than 65 years; 76% of patients had a KPS index>80. The tumor location was predominantly frontal and temporal. Longer mean survival observed among males, patients <65 years, Ki-67 index up to 20%, KPS > 80 and frontal tumor location. A reduction in the risk of dying was observed in patients with a KPS > 80. Patients who survived less than 12 months had a higher median Ki-67 index.
Conclusion: No statistically significant differences were found in the survival curves comparing a Ki-67 index up to 20 and Ki-67 index > 20 or the stratified Ki-67 index, however, higher risk of dying in older patients with a Ki-67 index > 20.

Keywords: Glioblastoma; Ki-67; Immunohistochemistry; Survival