Sex-specific impact of patterns of imageable tumor growth on survival of primary glioblastoma patients
Authors: Sandra K Johnston
Lee Curtin
Cassandra R Rickertsen
Lei Wang
Christine Paula Lewis-de Los Angeles
Spencer Bayless
Eduardo Carrasco Jr
Joshua B Rubin
Kathleen M Egan
Kristin R Swanson
Luis Gonzalez-Cuyar
Leland S Hu
Alyx Porter
Julia Lorence
Kamala Clark-Swanson
Sujay Vora
Priya Kumthekar
Noah C Peeri
Bernard R Bendok
Gustavo De Leon
Christina Corpuz
Maciej M Mrugala
Paula Whitmire
Peter Canoll
Robert Gatenby
Andrea Hawkins-Daarud
Journal: BMC Cancer (2020)
Discipline: CLINICAL MEDICINE
Keywords: Biomathematical models; Glioblastoma; Neuroimaging; Sex differences.
Affiliations: Precision Neurotherapeutics Innovation Program, Mayo Clinic, 5777 East Mayo Blvd , SSB 02-700, Phoenix, AZ, 85054, USA. ., Precision Neurotherapeutics Innovation Program, Mayo Clinic, 5777 East Mayo Blvd , SSB 02-700, Phoenix, AZ, 85054, USA., School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA., Centre for Mathematical Medicine and Biology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK., Cancer Epidemiology Program, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA., Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA., Northwestern University Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA., Department of Neurologic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, USA., Department of Pathology, Division of Neuropathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA., Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, USA., Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, USA., Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, USA., Department of Radiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA., Department of Neurology, Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA., Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA., Cancer Biology and Evolution Program, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA., Division of Neuropathology, Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA., Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.

Abstract:  Background: Sex is recognized as a significant determinant of outcome among glioblastoma patients, but the relative prognostic importance of glioblastoma features has not been thoroughly explored for sex differences. Methods: Combining multi-modal MR images, biomathematical models, and patient clinical information, this investigation assesses which pretreatment variables have a sex-specific impact on the survival of glioblastoma patients (299 males and 195 females). Results: Among males, tumor (T1Gd) radius was a predictor of overall survival (HR = 1.027, p = 0.044). Among females, higher tumor cell net invasion rate was a significant detriment to overall survival (HR = 1.011, p &lt; 0.001). Female extreme survivors had significantly smaller tumors (T1Gd) (p = 0.010 t-test), but tumor size was not correlated with female overall survival (p = 0.955 CPH). Both male and female extreme survivors had significantly lower tumor cell net proliferation rates than other patients (M p = 0.004, F p = 0.001, t-test). Conclusion: Despite similar distributions of the MR imaging parameters between males and females, there was a sex-specific difference in how these parameters related to outcomes. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 This paper contains a duplicate female patient. The PI and other co-authors were notified in summer 2020 in writing and ethical concerns were raised to redo the analysis. The PI never responded. To date, no corrections have been made to reflect this discrepancy. D rho results could also not be duplicated internally for another paper, and there are concerns that the rows for d rho were also mismatched when excel spreadsheets were merged. Patients diagnosed with GBM deserve honest research conducted with the utmost integrity. ,