Highest estimated 10- and 15-year survival rates seen for low-grade gliomas; lowest rates seen for high-grade gliomas excluding gliomas not otherwise specified
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Aug. 4, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The survival probabilities of pediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumors in Europe have been explored in a study published in the August issue of The Lancet Oncology.
Raoull Hoogendijk, Ph.D., from the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology in Utrecht, Netherlands, and colleagues conducted a population-based study to estimate survival outcomes across Europe for pediatric CNS tumors. Survival data were analyzed from children younger than 15 years with a CNS tumor across 31 European countries. Observed survival was estimated for 2008 to 2013 via the actuarial method (13,782 tumor cases). Cure fraction was estimated through a mixture cure model assuming constant long-term mortality from other causes for 1998 to 2013 (30,392 children).
The researchers found that the five-year observed survival was 72, 92, 47, 24, and 64 percent for ependymomas, low-grade gliomas, high-grade gliomas, high-grade gliomas excluding gliomas not otherwise specified, and medulloblastomas, respectively. The largest absolute increase in cure fraction during the study period was seen for ependymomas (65 percent in 1998-2001 to 79 percent in 2010-2013), while low-grade gliomas increased from 89 to 95 percent, high-grade gliomas from 44 to 50 percent, and medulloblastomas from 52 to 56 percent. The highest estimated 10- and 15-year survival rates were seen for low-grade gliomas (90.6 and 88.5 percent, respectively), while the lowest survival rates were seen for high-grade gliomas excluding gliomas not otherwise specified (20.5 and 19.0 percent, respectively).
“Survival for children with high-grade gliomas remains far too low,” coauthor Eelco Hoving, M.D., Ph.D., also from the Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, said in a statement. “Our findings highlight the urgent need for better treatments for these — and all — children with brain tumors.”
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