Association of MGMT promoter methylation with survival in low-grade and anaplastic gliomas after alkylating chemotherapy

MGMT promoter methylation is predictive for response of glioblastomas to alkylating chemotherapy. The utility of MGMT promoter status of low-grade and anaplastic gliomas is not yet clear. Combined analysis of three prospective cohort studies (411 patients) found that MGMT promoter methylation was independently associated with progression-free survival and overall survival among patients who received alkylating chemotherapy for low-grade and anaplastic gliomas, specifically among patients with IDH wild-type or IDH-mutant and 1p/19q-codeleted tumors. The authors conclude that MGMT promoter methylation is a biomarker associated with response to alkylating chemotherapy for low-grade and anaplastic gliomas, and may be considered as a stratification factor in future clinical trials.