‘Staggering' increase in low-grade glioma survival

New research has found that five-year survival rates for low-grade glioma patients after surgery had increased from 82 per cent in 2006 to 100 per cent in 2017.

As reported in The Times, the study,, led by teams from University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation and UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, went further finding that ten-year survival increased from 52 per cent in the years to 2006 to 96 per cent by 2017.

The study found that the proportion of patients who were seizure-free for a year or more after surgery, allowing them to drive a vehicle, nearly doubled, from 22 per cent in the 2006 period to 42 per cent in the 2017 period. The researchers say that several key factors are behind this, including three times as many patients being offered surgery, improved imaging techniques and the development of improved awake craniotomies that allow surgeons to monitor functions such as speech during the procedure.

Dr Jeremy Rees, a consultant neurologist at the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The improvements we saw in survival and seizure control were staggering. It appears that this change in approach — to operate earlier — has led to a step change in how long patients can expect to live. Improvements in seizure control are vitally important for patients, due to the impacts that seizures have on quality of life and driving, in particular. It is highly likely that the improvements we saw are a result of a more proactive approach to surgery.”