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Ahead of World Brain Tumour Day, experts in Delhi-NCR report that survival in high-grade gliomas has improved by up to 50%, with median survival rising to 14–18 months and a growing proportion of patients surviving two years or more, while a small subset are now living beyond a decade, reflecting meaningful progress despite continued challenges of late diagnosis.
New Delhi: Survival outcomes for patients with high-grade gliomas, among the most aggressive forms of brain cancer, are improving in India, with specialists reporting survival gains of up to 50% and a growing number of patients living years and in some cases more than a decade after diagnosis, a trend highlighted as part of World Tumour Day 2026 awareness efforts.
Experts from leading institutions in Delhi-NCR say advances in molecular diagnostics, comprehensive genomic profiling, neuronavigation-assisted surgery, precision radiation therapy, and targeted treatments are transforming the treatment landscape for glioma patients. According to clinicians, median survival for many high-grade glioma patients has improved from approximately 9–12 months to 14–18 months, while some centres are reporting nearly 40% two-year survival among Grade III and Grade IV glioma patients. Doctors also report that around 5% of patients in certain high-grade glioma cohorts are now surviving for more than 10 years.
Dr. Tejinder Kataria, Chairperson, Radiation Oncology, Medanta,, said, “Radiation oncology has evolved from open beams from the cobalt era to multi-leaf collimators and precise beam configuration. It’s not just treating the tumor. It’s also the quality of life of the patient. We are able to deliver the tumoricidal dose now. The overall survival or the median survival was around 9 to 12 months. It has moved to 14 to 18 months. Our survival of our patients with neuronavigation and radiation for grade 3 and grade 4 gliomas is almost 40% in two years. Some of our patients, maybe around 5% of them, are living for 10 years. The biggest blind spot in our country is the arrival of a patient to a specialist which is at a late stage. The symptoms may be masquerading as a headache, a hearing deficit, or a visual symptom. We need to have more awareness.”
Dr. Kataria noted that gliomas are being diagnosed across a broad adult age spectrum, from the third decade of life through the eighth decade. She also pointed out that protocol studies have reported two-year survival rates of up to 26% in high-grade gliomas, underscoring the progress being achieved through advances in surgery, radiation, and multidisciplinary care.
Despite these advances, specialists say delayed diagnosis continues to affect outcomes, with many patients reaching neuro-oncology specialists only after symptoms have significantly progressed.
Dr. R. Ranga Rao, Chairman – Medical Oncology, Paras Health Gurugram, said, “Brain tumour treatment is no longer limited to surgery and radiation alone. The growing understanding of tumour biology is helping us tailor treatment according to the molecular profile of each patient’s disease. Markers such as IDH mutations, MGMT status, and insights gained through comprehensive genomic sequencing are increasingly influencing treatment decisions and helping us identify patients who may benefit from targeted therapies. Whole genomic sequencing has emerged as an important tool in brain tumour management, enabling clinicians to better understand the tumour’s genetic makeup and select more personalized treatment approaches that can offer meaningful survival benefits. We are also seeing improved outcomes when patients are evaluated early and managed through a multidisciplinary neuro-oncology team. Importantly, newer targeted therapies have expanded treatment options for patients with recurrent disease, and we are now seeing some recurrent glioma patients living longer with appropriately selected chemotherapy and targeted treatments. Although high-grade gliomas continue to present significant challenges, the combination of precision diagnostics, modern therapies, and coordinated specialist care is enabling more patients to live longer and maintain a better quality of life than was possible even a few years ago.
Dr. Shyam Agarwal, Senior Consultant, Medical Oncology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said, “Once you hear the word tumor in the brain, they would feel that nothing can be done and life has come to an end because no treatment is going to be able to cure. Brain tumor is of many varieties, which can be benign and malignant, and even in the malignant types there can be many grades and it can be secondary from any part of the body. We have so many drugs, so many treatment options, including surgery and radiation, which can help to control their cancers for long periods of time and even potentially a cure in individuals, depending upon the tumor type. One should not get scared. There should be some degree of positivity associated in the mind of the treating team which should be conveyed to the patient and to the family. Molecular testing like comprehensive genome profiling has really become extremely important. We have started doing CGP in most of our cases. If you pick up an IDH1 aberration then that patient becomes amenable to treatment with Vorasidenib. Gene sequencing or a CGP is becoming important. It has become essential today to look at gene sequencing for all brain tumors in order to identify a targetable precision medicine.”
Highlighting challenges in diagnosis, Dr. Agarwal noted that many patients continue to reach specialists late because symptoms such as headaches are often treated for extended periods as stress-related pain, migraine or other common conditions. According to him, this contributes to delayed diagnosis compared with many Western countries. He also noted that specialists in Delhi-NCR are seeing younger patients presenting with astrocytoma and glioma. The incidence of gliomas and astrocytomas in India is estimated at around five to ten cases per one hundred thousand population annually, while brain tumours account for approximately 2% of all cancers diagnosed in the country. He added that gliomas remain among the most challenging cancers to treat.
From a global research perspective, experts say glioma treatment is increasingly moving towards precision oncology, where treatment decisions are guided by tumour biology and molecular alterations rather than tumour location alone.
Dr. Pranav Sopory, Medical and Patient Affairs Director, Servier India, said, “It’s no longer a one-size-fits-all disease. It’s largely a precision oncology-driven therapy area. You have to check for mutations such as IDH1 and 2, MGMT and 1P19. Organizations such as Servier are now experimenting in the next generation of immunotherapies and CAR T cell therapies in gliomas. One important innovation has already taken place. The results there are outstanding. In the future, I think it’s going to be more bright for glioma patients. Strengthen the clinical trial ecosystem in India. Innovate the public insurance scheme, such as Ayushman Bharat, and provide a space for multidisciplinary team discussion so that Indian patients with these difficult-to-treat cancers can access innovative therapies earlier and achieve the best possible outcomes.”
Experts emphasise that while gliomas remain among the most difficult cancers to treat, advances in precision diagnostics, targeted therapies, modern radiation techniques, and multidisciplinary care are steadily changing outcomes. They stress that greater awareness of warning signs, earlier referral to specialists, and wider access to genomic testing will be critical to ensuring that more patients benefit from these advances.
