Work

Association of postoperative anxiety and depressive symptom severity with progression-free survival in IDH-wild-type glioblastoma

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background Anxiety and depressive symptoms are common in patients with glioblastoma, but their association with progression-free survival (PFS) remains incompletely characterized in molecularly defined populations. We examined these associations in patients with IDH-wild-type glioblastoma. Methods This single-center observational study included 64 adults with newly diagnosed IDH-wild-type glioblastoma who completed the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) at a median of 35 days after resection (range, 30–38 days), before postoperative adjuvant therapy. Scores ≥10 defined positive screens. Separate multivariable Cox models estimated associations with PFS, adjusting for age, Karnofsky Performance Status, and gross-total resection. An independent exploratory analysis compared neurotransmitter- and stress-related receptor expression in paired primary and recurrent tumors from 105 patients annotated as having IDH-wild-type glioblastoma in the Glioma Longitudinal Analysis Consortium (GLASS). Results Compared with scores below the respective screening thresholds, greater anxiety symptom burden [GAD-7 score ≥10; adjusted hazard ratio 1.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.08–3.42] and greater depressive symptom burden (PHQ-9 score ≥10; adjusted hazard ratio 4.22, 95% CI 1.72–10.35) were associated with shorter PFS. Supportive continuous-score analyses showed consistent associations. In the independent GLASS cohort, recurrent tumors showed higher adrenergic, serotonergic, dopaminergic, and GABAergic receptor-family scores, higher CRHR1 expression, and lower AVPR1A expression. Conclusion Greater postoperative anxiety and depressive symptom burden was associated with shorter PFS in IDH-wild-type glioblastoma. Prospective studies with repeated symptom assessments, more complete clinical data, and matched molecular sampling are needed to evaluate these observational associations and the separate, hypothesis-generating molecular findings.

Source: Frontiers in Oncology

DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2026.1949803

Authors: Zhang Xiong, Zixiao Li, Changli Han, Xiangxiang Peng

Institution: First Affiliated Hospital of Wannan Medical College

Language: English

Topic: Glioma Diagnosis and Treatment

Subfield: Oncology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801