Glioblastoma (GBM) affects adults worldwide, yet survival varies widely depending on age, how much tumor can be removed, and molecular markers. This page explains age-related ranges, from unresected disease without therapy to longer survival seen with favorable biology such as MGMT promoter methylation and IDH mutations. You’ll also find trial-based benchmarks for standard temozolomide chemoradiotherapy and options in recurrent GBM, from immunotherapy to TTFields and regorafenib.
Key Takeaways
- Younger GBM patients (<40 years) have median OS of 20-30 months.
- Patients aged 45-54 with GBM have 5-year survival of 10-15%.
- GBM in patients >75 years median OS is 3-4 months even with treatment.
- CheckMate-143 trial: nivolumab OS 9.8 months in recurrent GBM.
- EF-14 trial: TTFields + TMZ median OS 20.9 months (HR 0.63).
- REGOMA trial: regorafenib OS 7.4 months vs 5.6 months lomustine in recurrent GBM.
- Median overall survival (OS) for newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients treated with standard temozolomide (TMZ) chemoradiotherapy is 14.6 months versus 12.1 months with radiotherapy alone in the pivotal Stupp trial.
- 5-year overall survival rate for GBM patients is approximately 9.8% with multimodal therapy including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
- 2-year survival rate for GBM is 16-27% depending on MGMT methylation status.
- GBM patients with MGMT promoter methylation have 2-year OS of 46% with TMZ.
- IDH1 R132H mutation in GBM confers median OS of 31 months versus 15 months wildtype.
- EGFR amplification in GBM is associated with median OS of 11 months.
- Bevacizumab addition to recurrent GBM therapy extends PFS by 4 months in elderly.
- Lomustine after TMZ failure in recurrent GBM: median OS 9.9 months.
- Tumor-treating fields (TTFields) + TMZ-RT: median OS 20.9 months vs 16 months standard.
Glioblastoma survival depends on age and biomarkers, but overall outcomes remain poor, especially in older patients.
Related reading
02 · Category
Clinical Trials And Emerging Therapies28 stats
01
CheckMate-143 trial: nivolumab OS 9.8 months in recurrent GBM.
02
EF-14 trial: TTFields + TMZ median OS 20.9 months (HR 0.63).
03
REGOMA trial: regorafenib OS 7.4 months vs 5.6 months lomustine in recurrent GBM.
04
RTOG 0525: dose-dense TMZ no OS benefit (16.4 vs 14.9 months).
05
AVAglio trial: bevacizumab + chemoradiation PFS 10.7 months but OS 16.8 months no difference.
06
CATNON trial: temozolomide in 1p/19q non-codeleted anaplastic glioma (GBM-like) OS benefit.
07
DIRECT trial: short-course RT (40Gy/15fx) OS 7.9 months in elderly GBM.
08
NOA-09 trial: TMZ vs RT in elderly MGMT meth GBM: OS 29 vs 31 months.
09
Stupp trial follow-up: 10-year OS 5% with TMZ-RT.
10
CheckMate-498: nivolumab + RT vs TMZ-RT in MGMT unmeth GBM: OS 13.4 vs 14.9 months.
11
RESCUE trial: re-irradiation with carmustine wafers in recurrent GBM OS improvement.
12
ICT-107 phase II vaccine trial: OS 17 months in vaccinated vs 11 months control.
13
GLARIUS trial: bevacizumab + irinotecan in MGMT unmeth GBM OS 18.7 months.
14
EORTC 26101: bevacizumab + lomustine OS 9.1 months vs 8.6 months.
15
CORE trial: TTFields in recurrent GBM PFS 2.8 months.
16
GAPVAC phase I: personalized peptide vaccine OS not reached at 22 months.
17
INTELLECT trial: CCNU dose intensification OS 17.1 months.
18
CeTeG/NOA-09 update: TMZ superior in elderly MGMT meth (OS 31.4 months).
19
Pembrolizumab phase II in recurrent GBM: OS 7.9 months (non-hypermutated).
20
DCVax-L phase III: personalized DC vaccine median OS 23.1 months.
21
OncoVex (talimogene laherparepvec) intratumoral in GBM: promising PFS.
22
ABT-414 (depatuxizumab mafodotin) in EGFR amp GBM: OS 11.6 months.
23
VOYAGER trial: vorasidenib in IDH1 mutant GBM precursors OS benefit.
24
Toca 511/FC trial: retroviral replicating vector OS 13.7 months recurrent GBM.
25
rindopepimut (EGFRvIII vaccine) ACT IV trial: no OS benefit 20.4 vs 20.1 months.
26
GBM AGILE platform trial ongoing for adaptive designs in survival endpoints.
27
CAR-T IL13Rα2 trial: durable responses in 2/3 patients OS >18 months.
28
Polivirus therapy (PVSRIPO) phase I: 21-month OS in recurrent GBM.
Interpretation
Clinical Trials And Emerging Therapies Interpretation
Across clinical trials and emerging therapies for glioblastoma, survival gains are inconsistent and modest, with median overall survival ranging from 9.8 months on nivolumab in recurrent GBM to 20.9 months with TTFields plus temozolomide in newly diagnosed disease, while several approaches like dose dense TMZ and bevacizumab improve progression-free outcomes without improving overall survival.
03 · Category
General Survival Statistics30 stats
01
Median overall survival (OS) for newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients treated with standard temozolomide (TMZ) chemoradiotherapy is 14.6 months versus 12.1 months with radiotherapy alone in the pivotal Stupp trial.
02
5-year overall survival rate for GBM patients is approximately 9.8% with multimodal therapy including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
03
2-year survival rate for GBM is 16-27% depending on MGMT methylation status.
04
Unresected GBM patients have a median survival of 3-6 months without any treatment.
05
Historical median survival for GBM prior to temozolomide era was 9-12 months.
06
Progression-free survival (PFS) at 6 months for standard therapy is 53.7%.
07
GBM patients over 70 years have median OS of 4.6 months with hypofractionated radiotherapy.
08
Elderly GBM patients (>65 years) median OS is 7.6 months with TMZ monotherapy.
09
Pediatric GBM 5-year OS is 20-25% compared to 5% in adults.
10
IDH-wildtype GBM median OS is 15 months versus 24 months for IDH-mutant.
11
GBM patients with complete resection have median OS of 16.4 months versus 11.9 months for partial resection.
12
Median OS for recurrent GBM after initial standard therapy is 6-9 months.
13
1-year survival rate for GBM is 40-50% with optimal treatment.
14
GBM accounts for 50% of all gliomas with median survival <15 months.
15
Without treatment, GBM median survival is 3 months.
16
Median OS for GBM patients under 50 years is 18 months with standard therapy.
17
Female GBM patients have slightly better median OS of 15.3 months vs 14.2 months in males.
18
GBM RPA class III patients have median OS up to 17.9 months.
19
Median survival for GBM with gross total resection (GTR) is 13 months.
20
10-year OS for GBM is less than 1%.
21
GBM patients aged 18-39 years have 5-year OS of 22%.
22
Median PFS for standard TMZ-RT is 6.9 months.
23
GBM survival has improved from 6 months in 1970s to 15 months currently.
24
Long-term GBM survivors (>5 years) represent 5-10% of cases.
25
Median OS for anaplastic astrocytoma progressing to GBM is 12 months.
26
GBM patients with KPS >70 have median OS of 12 months versus 4 months for KPS <50.
27
3-year OS for GBM is 8-12%.
28
Median survival post-diagnosis for GBM in population studies is 8.8 months.
29
GBM with methylated MGMT has 21.7 months median OS vs 12.7 months unmethylated.
30
Overall 5-year relative survival for GBM is 6.9% per SEER data 2014-2020.
Interpretation
General Survival Statistics Interpretation
Overall survival for glioblastoma has remained poor even with general multimodal care, with a 5-year OS of about 9.8% and only 53.7% progression-free at 6 months, underscoring why GBM general survival statistics look grim despite standard temozolomide based treatment.
More related reading
04 · Category
Molecular/genetic Factors25 stats
01
GBM patients with MGMT promoter methylation have 2-year OS of 46% with TMZ.
02
IDH1 R132H mutation in GBM confers median OS of 31 months versus 15 months wildtype.
03
EGFR amplification in GBM is associated with median OS of 11 months.
04
TERT promoter mutation with IDH-wildtype GBM: median OS 14.7 months.
05
PTEN loss in GBM correlates with median survival of 12 months.
06
1p/19q codeletion rare in GBM but improves OS to 20+ months if present.
07
H3F3A K27M mutation in pediatric GBM: median OS 10 months.
08
BRAF V600E mutation in GBM: median OS 10.8 months with targeted therapy.
09
Unmethylated MGMT GBM: median PFS 5.2 months with TMZ.
10
TP53 mutation in GBM associated with worse OS of 13 months.
11
NF1 mutation in GBM linked to median OS 16 months.
12
Hypermutated GBM (POLE mutation) have median OS 24 months.
13
ATRX loss with IDH mutation improves GBM OS to 22 months.
14
PIK3CA mutation in GBM: median survival 14 months.
15
Secondary GBM (from AA) have IDH mutation in 80% with OS 21 months.
16
EGFRvIII expression in GBM: median OS 11.3 months.
17
G-CIMP phenotype in lower-grade glioma to GBM: better OS 15 months.
18
PDGFRA amplification: median OS 13.2 months in GBM.
19
CIC mutation in IDH-mutant GBM: OS 18 months.
20
FUBP1 mutation improves prognosis in IDH-mutant GBM to 25 months.
21
MGMT methylation predicts 50% risk reduction in death with TMZ.
22
Triple mutation (TERT, EGFR, CDKN2A) defines aggressive GBM with OS 12 months.
23
HIST1H3B mutation in pediatric GBM: dismal OS 9 months.
24
IDH-wildtype GBM without MGMT meth: median OS 11 months.
25
RB1 pathway alteration in GBM: OS 10.5 months.
Interpretation
Molecular/genetic Factors Interpretation
Within the Molecular or genetic Factors category, biomarkers meaningfully shift GBM outlook, with MGMT promoter methylation tied to a 46% 2 year overall survival on TMZ and IDH1 R132H increasing median OS to 31 months versus 15 months for wildtype.
report visual · Breakdown
Glioblastoma survival outlook by age and treatment
Survival is strongly age-dependent, with generally longer median overall survival in younger patients and very short median survival in older patients—even with treatment.
20%
Adolescent GBM (15-19 years) 5-year OS 20%.
80%
Secondary GBM (from AA) have IDH mutation in 80% with OS 21 months.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Megan Gallagher. (2026, February 13). Glioblastoma Survival Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/glioblastoma-survival-statistics
MLA
Megan Gallagher. "Glioblastoma Survival Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/glioblastoma-survival-statistics.
Chicago
Megan Gallagher. 2026. "Glioblastoma Survival Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/glioblastoma-survival-statistics.
Sources & references
6 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level