Background: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a common primary malignant brain tumor, rarely disseminates beyond
the central nervous system and has a very bad prognosis. The current study aimed at the analysis of immunological
control in individual patients with GBM.
Methods: Immune phenotypes and plasma biomarkers of GBM patients were determined at the time of diagnosis
using flow cytometry and ELISA, respectively.
Results: Using descriptive statistics, we found that immune anomalies were distinct in individual patients. Defined
marker profiles proved highly relevant for survival. A remarkable relation between activated NK cells and improved
survival in GBM patients was in contrast to increased CD39 and IL-10 in patients with a detrimental course and very
short survival. Recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) and Cox proportional hazards models substantiated the
relevance of absolute numbers of CD8 cells and low numbers of CD39 cells for better survival.
Conclusions: Defined alterations of the immune system may guide the course of disease in patients with GBM
and may be prognostically valuable for longitudinal studies or can be applied for immune intervention.