TREATMENT OF SUPRATENTORIAL BRAIN TUMOURS IN OLDER AND VERY OLD PATIENTS: FROM THE CONCEPT OF BIOLOGICAL AGE TO PERSONALISED MANAGEMENT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52754/16948610_2026_3_3%20Keywords:
neuro-oncology; older and very old patients; meningioma; glioblastoma; frailty; neuroimaging; postoperative careAbstract
Population ageing is reshaping the neurosurgical caseload: the share of older and very old patients in specialised departments continues to grow. The aim of this work is to summarise current evidence on the epidemiology, molecular biology and clinical management of supratentorial gliomas and meningiomas in geriatric patients. A narrative review of publications from the past decade was performed, covering international clinical guidelines, randomised trials, systematic reviews and population registry data. In this age group, meningiomas predominate among non-malignant tumours and glioblastomas without isocitrate dehydrogenase mutation among malignant ones, while wider access to imaging increases the detection of asymptomatic meningiomas. The contribution of multimodal neuroimaging to delineating tumour infiltration is discussed. Reducing postoperative mortality depends not only on surgical technique but also on standardised prolonged postoperative care that accounts for comorbidity and the risk of hospital-acquired infection. Developing guidelines for personalised management of such patients remains a priority.
References
Barker, F.G. (2004). Craniotomy for the resection of metastatic brain tumors in the U.S., 1988–2000: Decreasing mortality and the effect of provider caseload. Cancer, Vol. 100, No. 5, pp. 999–1007.
Caroli, M., Locatelli, M., Prada, F., Beretta, F., Martinelli-Boneschi, F., Campanella, R., Arienta, C. (2005). Surgery for intracranial meningiomas in the elderly: A clinical-radiological grading system as a predictor of outcome. Journal of Neurosurgery, Vol. 102, No. 2, pp. 290–294. https://doi.org/10.3171/jns.2005.102.2.0290
Chaichana, K.L., Jusue-Torres, I., Navarro-Ramirez, R., Raza, S.M., Pascual-Gallego, M., Ibrahim, A., Quinones-Hinojosa, A. (2014). Establishing percent resection and residual volume thresholds affecting survival and recurrence for patients with newly diagnosed intracranial glioblastoma. Neuro-Oncology, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 113–122. https://doi.org/10.1093/neuonc/not137
Corell, A., Bartek, J., Jakola, A.S. et al. (2022). Older meningioma patients: A retrospective population-based study of risk factors for morbidity and mortality after neurosurgery. Acta Neurochirurgica. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-022-05336-1
Eckel-Passow, J.E., Lachance, D.H., Molinaro, A.M. et al. (2015). Glioma groups based on 1p/19q, IDH, and TERT promoter mutations in tumors. The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 372, No. 26, pp. 2499–2508. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1407279
Ferroli, P., Vetrano, I.G., Schiavolin, S., Acerbi, F., Zattra, C.M., Schiariti, M., Leonardi, M., Broggi, M. (2021). Brain tumor resection in elderly patients: Potential factors of postoperative worsening in a predictive outcome model. Cancers, Vol. 13, No. 10, p. 2320. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13102320
Fjell, A.M., Walhovd, K.B. (2010). Structural brain changes in aging: Courses, causes and cognitive consequences. Reviews in the Neurosciences, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 187–221. https://doi.org/10.1515/revneuro.2010.21.3.187
Früh, A., Bodnar, B., Nachbar, M., Gradhand, J., Kalinauskaite, G., Rubarth, K., Acker, G. (2024). Robotic stereotactic radiosurgery for intracranial meningiomas in elderly patients: Assessment of treatment efficacy and safety. Frontiers in Oncology, Vol. 14, 1329696. https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2024.1329696
Grossman, R., Nossek, E., Sitt, R., Hayat, D., Shahar, T., Barzilai, O., Ram, Z. (2013). Outcome of elderly patients undergoing awake-craniotomy for tumor resection. Annals of Surgical Oncology, Vol. 20, No. 5, pp. 1722–1728.
Heiland, D.H., Haaker, G., Watzlawick, R., Delev, D., Masalha, W., Franco, P., Schnell, O. (2018). One decade of glioblastoma multiforme surgery in 342 elderly patients: What have we learned. Journal of Neuro-Oncology, Vol. 140, No. 2, pp. 385–391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-018-2964-8
Himic, V., Lu, V.M., Mayrand, R.C. et al. (2026). Awake craniotomy for brain tumor resection in the elderly: An institutional experience. Journal of Neuro-Oncology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-026-05421-w
Hu, L.S., Ning, S., Eschbacher, J.M., Gaw, N., Dueck, A.C., Smith, K.A., Li, J. (2015). Multi-parametric MRI and texture analysis to visualize spatial histologic heterogeneity and tumor extent in glioblastoma. PLoS ONE, Vol. 10, No. 11, e0141506. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141506
Ius, T., Raffa, G., Aiudi, D., Panciani, P.P., Della Pepa, G.M., Pessina, F., Cavallo, L.M. (2024). From data to practice: Brain meningioma treatment in elderly patients — a survey of the Italian Society of Neurosurgery (SINch) and systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosurgical Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10143-024-02524-8
Kaul, D., Budach, V., Graaf, L., Gollrad, J., Badakhshi, H. (2015). Outcome of elderly patients with meningioma after image-guided stereotactic radiotherapy: A study of 100 cases. BioMed Research International, Vol. 2015, 868401. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/868401
Kingsly, E.N., Bozkurt, I., Chaurasia, B. (2023). Neuro-navigation: Equipment, tips, and tricks on brain navigated surgery. Indian Journal of Neurosurgery, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 193–202. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-1764456
Law, I., Albert, N.L., Arbizu, J. et al. (2019). Joint EANM/EANO/RANO practice guidelines/SNMMI procedure standards for imaging of gliomas using PET with radiolabelled amino acids and [18F]FDG: Version 1.0. European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 540–557.
Louis, D.N., Perry, A., Wesseling, P. et al. (2021). The 2021 WHO Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System: A summary. Neuro-Oncology, Vol. 23, No. 8, pp. 1231–1251. https://doi.org/10.1093/neuonc/noab106
Maas, S.L.N., Stichel, D., Hielscher, T., Sievers, P., Berghoff, A.S., Schrimpf, D., Sahm, F. (2021). Integrated molecular-morphologic meningioma classification: A multicenter retrospective analysis, retrospectively and prospectively validated. Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol. 39, No. 34, pp. 3839–3852. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.21.00784
Ostrom, Q.T., Price, M., Neff, C. et al. (2024). CBTRUS Statistical Report: Primary brain and other central nervous system tumors diagnosed in the United States in 2017–2021. Neuro-Oncology, Vol. 26, Suppl. 4, pp. iv1–iv85.
Pazniokas, J., Gandhi, C., Theriault, B., Schmidt, M., Cole, C., Al-Mufti, F., Santarelli, J., Bowers, C.A. (2021). The immense heterogeneity of frailty in neurosurgery: A systematic literature review. Neurosurgical Review, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 189–201. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10143-020-01241-2
Perry, J.R., Laperriere, N., O'Callaghan, C.J. et al. (2017). Short-course radiation plus temozolomide in elderly patients with glioblastoma. The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 376, No. 11, pp. 1027–1037. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1611977
Resnick, S.M., Pham, D.L., Kraut, M.A., Zonderman, A.B., Davatzikos, C. (2003). Longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging studies of older adults: A shrinking brain. The Journal of Neuroscience, Vol. 23, No. 8, pp. 3295–3301.
Roa, W., Brasher, P.M.A., Bauman, G. et al. (2004). Abbreviated course of radiation therapy in older patients with glioblastoma multiforme: A prospective randomized clinical trial. Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol. 22, No. 9, pp. 1583–1588.
Roa, W., Kepka, L., Kumar, N. et al. (2015). International Atomic Energy Agency randomized phase III study of radiation therapy in elderly and/or frail patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme. Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol. 33, No. 35, pp. 4145–4150.
Sanai, N., Polley, M.Y., McDermott, M.W., Parsa, A.T., Berger, M.S. (2011). An extent of resection threshold for newly diagnosed glioblastomas. Journal of Neurosurgery, Vol. 115, No. 1, pp. 3–8. https://doi.org/10.3171/2011.7.JNS10238
Schneider, M., Potthoff, A.L., Scharnböck, E. et al. (2020). Newly diagnosed glioblastoma in geriatric (65+) patients: Impact of patients frailty, comorbidity burden and obesity on overall survival. Journal of Neuro-Oncology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11060-020-03625-2
Sciancalepore, F., Salemme, S., Valletta, M., Blasi, M.T., Remoli, G., Zamboni, G., Vanacore, N., Canevelli, M. (2026). Frailty and the brain: A narrative review of functional and pathological correlates. Ageing Research Reviews, Vol. 113, 102945. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2025.102945
UN DESA (2020). World Population Ageing 2020: Highlights. New York: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Vernooij, M.W., Ikram, M.A., Tanghe, H.L. et al. (2007). Incidental findings on brain MRI in the general population. The New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 357, No. 18, pp. 1821–1828.
Weller, M., van den Bent, M., Preusser, M. et al. (2021). EANO guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of diffuse gliomas of adulthood. Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 170–186.
WHO. (2021). Decade of Healthy Ageing: Baseline Report (2021–2030). Geneva: World Health Organization.
Wick, W., Platten, M., Meisner, C. et al. (2012). Temozolomide chemotherapy alone versus radiotherapy alone for malignant astrocytoma in the elderly: The NOA-08 randomised, phase 3 trial. The Lancet Oncology, Vol. 13, No. 7, pp. 707–715.
Wu, H., Cheng, Y., Gao, W., Chen, P., Wei, Y., Zhao, H., Wang, F. (2024). Progress in the application of ultrasound in glioma surgery. Frontiers in Medicine, Vol. 11, 1388728. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2024.1388728
Yu, J., Liu, Y., Qu, R., Wang, Z., Zhao, Y., Zhao, Y., Zhou, C. (2023). Evaluation of a clinical pharmacist-led antimicrobial stewardship program in a neurosurgical intensive care unit: A pre- and post-intervention cohort study. Frontiers in Pharmacology, Vol. 14, 1263618. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2023.1263618
Zhu, J., Qiu, X., Ji, C., Wang, F., Tao, A., Chen, L. (2023). Frailty as a predictor of neurosurgical outcomes in brain tumor patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, Vol. 14, 1126123. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1126123
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Акылбек Акматалиев, Буранбек Дюшеев , Нурлан Качиев, Улан Каримов

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.



