Anaplastic Astrocytoma

An astrocytoma is a Glioma that develops from star-shaped Glial cells (astrocytes) that support nerve cells. An anaplastic astrocytoma is classified as a grade III Tumor.


Characteristics

  • Grows faster and more aggressively than grade II astrocytomas
  • Tumor cells are not uniform in appearance
  • Invades neighboring tissue
  • Common among men and women in their 30s-50s
  • More common in men than women
  • Accounts for four percent of all brain tumors


Treatment

Treatment depends on the location of the tumor and how far it has progressed. Surgery and radiation therapy, with Chemotherapy during or following radiation, are the standard treatments. If surgery is not an option, then the doctor may recommend radiation and/or chemotherapy.

© 2008 National Brain Tumor Society. All rights reserved. All use subject to Terms and Conditions of Use set forth at http://www.braintumor.org. All materials published on or used on the Site are protected by copyright, and used with permission from National Brain Tumor Society

Figure 1: MRI of brain. (A) Initial MRI on February 16, 2005, shows a tumor in the right and left Frontal Lobe as well as the right thalamus. (B) MRI after surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. The tumor has completely disappeared except for slight enhancement adjacent to the surgical Margin. (C) Recurrence of the thalamic tumor despite maintenance chemotherapy on November 16, 2005. (D) Increase in size of the thalamic tumor two months after stereotactic Radiotherapy. (E) After 6 cycles of TMZ therapy, the thalamic Lesion enlarged, and the patient developed dysarthria and hemiparesis. (F) After 2 courses of treatment with interferon-beta and TMZ, the tumor shows a partial response.

Source: Fujimaki T, Ishii H, Matsuno A, Arai H, Nakagomi T.Effectiveness of interferon-beta and Temozolomide combination therapy against temozolomide-refractory recurrent anaplastic astrocytoma.World J Surg Oncol. 2007 Aug 4;5:89. PMID 17683572 doi:10.1186/1477-7819-5-89

This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License

# Article Title
# Article Title