Awake surgery for deep brain tumors: what helped people live longer
Original title: Prognostic Factors and Oncofunctional Outcomes of WHO 2021-Classified Insular Gliomas Undergoing Awake Brain Mapping.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This was a look back at people who already had this surgery, not a test of a new treatment.
The short version
Doctors looked back at 36 people who had brain tumor surgery while awake, and their memory scores did not get worse.
What was studied. Doctors reviewed 36 people who had a glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are graded 1 to 4 by how fast they tend to grow. See the glossary in a deep part of the brain called the insula, all treated with surgery while they were awake. They looked at how long people lived and how their thinking and memory held up afterward.
What they found. Of the 36 people, 23 had an IDH gene change: A small change in a tumor's IDH gene. Tumors with this change often grow more slowly and may respond to different treatments. Your pathology report says whether your tumor has it. See the glossary lower grade glioma: A tumor that starts in the glial cells, the support cells of the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas are graded 1 to 4 by how fast they tend to grow. See the glossary. Another 5 and 8 people had IDH-wildtype glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary. People with the IDH-mutant tumor lived the longest, so long that the study could not report a number. Survival for the two wildtype groups was about 15 months and about 12 months. Memory test scores after surgery were better than before surgery. Removing 90% or more of the tumor was linked to living longer.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Awake surgery let these surgeons take out tumor in a risky part of the brain without wrecking speech, movement, or memory. It also suggests that taking out more of the tumor may help people live longer. Your tumor type still matters a lot. The IDH gene change: A small change in a tumor's IDH gene. Tumors with this change often grow more slowly and may respond to different treatments. Your pathology report says whether your tumor has it. See the glossary kind had a much better outlook here than the wildtype kind.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a cure, and it is not proof that awake surgery makes people live longer. It was a look back at records from one hospital, not a trial that compared surgery choices side by side. Only 36 people were included, which is a small number. People who lived longer may have had tumors that were easier to remove in the first place. Ask your own care team whether awake surgery fits your tumor and where you are treated.
Source: PubMed, July 24, 2026 · Read the original
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