Prognostic and Predictive Effect of Age in Molecularly Defined Lower-Grade Gliomas

C Connor J. Kinslow G Giuseppe Minniti P Paul D. Brown M Michael A. Vogelbaum (Department of Neuro-Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL) K Karla V. Ballman (From the Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda (A.B.A., N.S., S.N., L.L., L.C.), the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore (J.H.-C.), and the Investigational Drug Branch, Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville (H.S., E.S.) — all in Maryland; the Alliance Statistics and Data Management Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN (K.V.B., M.O., C.M., G.P.B.); AdventHealth Cancer Institute and the University of Central Florida, Orlando (G.S.); Dana–Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Boston (S.B., B.M.); UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill (W.Y.K.), and Duke University Medical Center and Duke Cancer Institute, Durham (J.H., S.H.) — both in North Carolina; the University of Kansas Cancer Center, Westwood (R.P.); Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York (M.Y.T., M.J.M., J.E.R.), and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo (G.C.) — both in...) A Ann Mercurio (1Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Morningside/West, Department of Medicine, New York, United States) M Markus D. Siegelin (Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY) E Emre Kocakavuk K Kyle Tuohy (Department of Neurosurgery, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA) A Alireza Mansouri M Mehdi Touat F François Ducray (Neuro-Oncology Department, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Cancer Research Center of Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Lyon, France) C Caroline Dehais (Service de Neuro-oncologie, Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires La Pitié Salpêtrière—Charles Foix, Paris, France) A Angelo Dipasquale (Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy) M Matteo Simonelli D David M. DeStephano (Department of Radiation Oncology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY) J Jack Grinband (Department of Radiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY) J James B. Yu (Department of Radiation Oncology and Applied Sciences, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH) H Henry Walch (Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY) M Mitchell I. Parker (Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY) I Igor Shuryak S Soumyajit Roy S Shawn L. Hervey-Jumper M Matthew Gallitto (Department of Radiation Oncology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY) D David P. Horowitz (Department of Radiation Oncology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY) G Guy M. McKhann (Department of Neurosurgery, Columbia University) M Michael B. Sisti (Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY) J Jeffrey N. Bruce (Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY) P Peter Canoll Q Quinn T. Ostrom A Alfred I. Neugut (Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY) L Luke R.G. Pike (Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY) F Fabio M. Iwamoto (10Department of Neuro-Oncology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY) S Simon K. Cheng L Lisa A. Kachnic M Minesh P. Mehta T Tony J.C. Wang (Department of Radiation Oncology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY)

Abstract

PURPOSE Age ≥40 years is regarded as a high-risk feature and an indication for adjuvant chemoradiotherapy for patients with lower-grade glioma in clinical practice guidelines. It is unclear whether age remains a relevant prognostic factor for contemporary definitions of lower-grade gliomas in the molecular era. METHODS The Prospective Gliomas Research (PROGRES) database contains individual patient-level data from 11 prospective clinical trials or observational registries of histologically defined lower-grade 2-3 oligodendroglioma or astrocytoma. We determined the association of age (18-39 years v ≥40 years) with progression-free survival (PFS) stratified by isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 or 2 ( IDH1/2 ) status, using log-rank tests and Cox regression models. We validated our findings in a separate multi-institutional retrospective cohort (Retrospective Glioma Research [REGRES] database). RESULTS We identified 1,619 and 1,292 eligible patients in the PROGRES and REGRES cohorts, respectively. IDH -wildtype tumors were more common in patients 40 years and older (38% v 5%, odds ratio: 11.3 [95% CI, 6.5 to 19.7]). Age was associated with PFS in IDH -wildtype (5-year PFS for ≥40 v 18-39 years: 6% v 24%, hazard ratio [HR], 1.74 [95% CI, 1.21 to 2.50]) but not in IDH -mutant glioma (60% v 59%, HR, 0.89 [95% CI, 0.76 to 1.05], P interaction < .001). In IDH -wildtype tumors, older age predicted aggressive molecular features, including TERT promoter mutation (65% v 28%), EGFR amplification (41% v 15%), and chromosome +7/–10 alteration (57% v 25%). In a pooled analysis of four clinical trials, age was not predictive of a benefit from chemoradiotherapy versus radiotherapy alone for IDH -mutant glioma. CONCLUSION In the absence of additional clinical or molecular risk factors, age alone should not be considered an indication for administration or deferral of adjuvant treatment. Practice guidelines should be revised to reflect contemporary prognostic factors in the molecular era.

Article Details

Volume / Issue Vol. 1, Issue 1
Published August 12, 2026
ISSN 0732-183X
Publisher Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

Journal Info

Journal of Clinical Oncology

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

ISSN: 0732-183X Health Sciences

Authors (37)

C

Connor J. Kinslow

G

Giuseppe Minniti

P

Paul D. Brown

M

Michael A. Vogelbaum

Department of Neuro-Oncology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL

K

Karla V. Ballman

From the Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda (A.B.A., N.S., S.N., L.L., L.C.), the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore (J.H.-C.), and the Investigational Drug Branch, Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville (H.S., E.S.) — all in Maryland; the Alliance Statistics and Data Management Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN (K.V.B., M.O., C.M., G.P.B.); AdventHealth Cancer Institute and the University of Central Florida, Orlando (G.S.); Dana–Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Boston (S.B., B.M.); UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill (W.Y.K.), and Duke University Medical Center and Duke Cancer Institute, Durham (J.H., S.H.) — both in North Carolina; the University of Kansas Cancer Center, Westwood (R.P.); Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York (M.Y.T., M.J.M., J.E.R.), and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo (G.C.) — both in...

A

Ann Mercurio

1Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Morningside/West, Department of Medicine, New York, United States

M

Markus D. Siegelin

Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY

E

Emre Kocakavuk

K

Kyle Tuohy

Department of Neurosurgery, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA

A

Alireza Mansouri

M

Mehdi Touat

F

François Ducray

Neuro-Oncology Department, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Cancer Research Center of Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Lyon, France

C

Caroline Dehais

Service de Neuro-oncologie, Sorbonne Université, Inserm, CNRS, UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau, Paris Brain Institute, ICM, AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires La Pitié Salpêtrière—Charles Foix, Paris, France

A

Angelo Dipasquale

Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy

M

Matteo Simonelli

D

David M. DeStephano

Department of Radiation Oncology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY

J

Jack Grinband

Department of Radiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY

J

James B. Yu

Department of Radiation Oncology and Applied Sciences, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH

H

Henry Walch

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

M

Mitchell I. Parker

Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

I

Igor Shuryak

S

Soumyajit Roy

S

Shawn L. Hervey-Jumper

M

Matthew Gallitto

Department of Radiation Oncology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY

D

David P. Horowitz

Department of Radiation Oncology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY

G

Guy M. McKhann

Department of Neurosurgery, Columbia University

M

Michael B. Sisti

Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY

J

Jeffrey N. Bruce

Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY

P

Peter Canoll

Q

Quinn T. Ostrom

A

Alfred I. Neugut

Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY

L

Luke R.G. Pike

Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

F

Fabio M. Iwamoto

10Department of Neuro-Oncology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY

S

Simon K. Cheng

L

Lisa A. Kachnic

M

Minesh P. Mehta

T

Tony J.C. Wang

Department of Radiation Oncology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY