Clinical Risk and Overall Survival in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus, Hyperglycemia and Glioblastoma Multiforme. A Review of the Current Literature
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Department of Neurosurgery, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Pisana (AOUP), 56126 Pisa, Italy
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Department of Translational Research and of New Surgical and Medical Technologies, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
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Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sense Organs, “Aldo Moro” University of Bari, 70121 Bari, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(22), 8501; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17228501
Received: 19 September 2020 / Revised: 11 November 2020 / Accepted: 15 November 2020 / Published: 17 November 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diabetes: Screening, Prevention, Diagnosis and Therapy)
The relationship between type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) and hyperglycemia with cancer patients remains controversial also in the setting of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most common and aggressive form of astrocytoma with a short overall survival (OS) and poor prognosis. A systematic search of two databases was performed for studies published up to 19 August 2020, reporting the OS of patients with DM2 or high blood sugar level and GBM and the clinical risk of diabetic patients for development of GBM. According to PRISMA guidelines, we included a total of 20 papers reporting clinical data of patients with GBM and diabetes and/or hyperglycemia. The aim of this review was to investigate the effect of DM2, hyperglycemia and metformin on OS of patients with GBM. In addition, we evaluated the effect of these factors on the risk of development of GBM. This review supports accumulating evidence that hyperglycemia, rather than DM2, and elevated BMI are independent risk factors for poor outcome and shorter OS in patients with GBM. GBM patients with normal weight compared to obese, and diabetic patients on metformin compared to other therapies, seems to have a longer OS. Further studies are needed to understand better these associations.