Optimal managements of elderly patients with glioblastoma

Abstract

Optimizing the management of elderly patients with glioblastoma is an ongoing task in neuro-oncology. The number of patients with this tumor type is gradually increasing with the aging of the population. Although available data and practice recommendations remain limited, the current strategy is maximal safe surgical resection followed by radiotherapy in combination with temozolomide. However, survival is significantly worse than that in the younger population. Surgical resection provides survival benefit in patients with good performance status. Hypofractionated radiotherapy decreases toxicities while maintaining therapeutic efficacy, thus improving treatment adherence and subsequently leading to better quality of life. The intensity of these treatments should be balanced with patient-specific factors and consideration of quality of life. This review discusses the current optimal management in terms of efficacy and safety, as well as future perspectives.