BACKGROUND

Biological differences based on sex have been documented throughout the scientific literature. Glioblastoma (GBM), the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults, has a male sex incidence bias, however, no clinical trial data examining differential effects of treatment between sexes currently exists.

METHOD

We analyzed genomic data, as well as clinical trials, to delineate the effect of sex on the immune system and GBM outcome following immunotherapy.

RESULTS

We found that in general females possess enriched immunological signatures on gene set enrichment analysis, which also stratified patient survival when delineated by sex. Female GBM patients treated with immunotherapy had a statistically significant survival advantage at the 1-year compared to males (relative risk [RR] = 1.15; = .0241). This effect was even more pronounced in vaccine-based immunotherapy (RR = 1.29; = .0158).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study shows a meaningful difference in the immunobiology between males and females that also influences the overall response to immunotherapy in the setting of GBM.