Anatomical resection in glioblastoma: extent of resection and its impact on duration of survival

Introduction Glioblastoma is still a disease without a cure despite the use of a multimodal approach. The extent of resection has been the only modifiable factor in the different variables that affect survival. Cellular tumour infiltration beyond the visible enhancing excisable lesion remains the cornerstone for inevitable disease recurrence and progression. Patients and methods We prospectively evaluated the impact of the extent of resection beyond the visible enhancing tumour on the survival. We evaluated 59 patients with glioblastoma who were operated upon by maximum possible safe excision of the tumour and the surrounding involved gyri or lobe as long it was not considered eloquent. We followed the patients until recurrence and death. Results Fifty-nine patients, 43 men, mean age 48 years, were studied. Overall, 28.8% of the tumours were frontal, 20% were parietal, 37.2% were temporal and 14% were occipital. The median preoperative contrast-enhancing tumour volume was 42.36 ml. Twenty patients (34%) underwent anatomical excision, 21 patients (36%) underwent gross total excision, 14 patients (24%) underwent subtotal and four patients (7%) underwent surgical debulking. In all, 79.66% of the patients died. There was a statistically significant reduction in the mean survival with less aggressive resection, for which the average survival was 16.5 months for the anatomical resection group, 12.09 months for the gross total excision group, 7.34 months for the subtotal excision group and 4.67 months for the debulking group (P = 0.002). Conclusion Total tumour resection with extra margin of tumour-infiltrated gliotic tissue, followed by adjuvant radiochemotherapy leads to longer survival than less radical excision.