Post-contrast enhancement as a clinical indicator of prognosis in patients with anaplastic astrocytoma.
Diagnosis of an anaplastic astrocytoma (World Health Organization grade III) is associated with a highly variable prognosis. The identification of clinical markers that allow a more careful delineation of this prognostic spectrum is urgently needed. In this study, we analysed 48 patients with a histological diagnosis of anaplastic astrocytoma and found peritumoral post-gadolinium contrast enhancement to be a clear prognostic marker of poor prognosis. Multivariate analysis also confirmed surgery type, Karnofsky Performance Status score (<70) and increasing age as independent adverse predictors of survival. The survival differences observed in the enhancing and non-enhancing lesions in patients diagnosed with anaplastic astrocytoma supports the existence of a broad anaplastic spectrum of disease, with enhancement being a clinical marker of tumour progression along this spectrum.
Matar
Elie
E
Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
Cook
Raymond J
RJ
Fowler
Adam R
AR
Biggs
Michael T
MT
Little
Nicholas S
NS
Wheeler
Helen R
HR
Robinson
Bruce G
BG
McDonald
Kerrie L
KL
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000473:pathology*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005682:Gadolinium; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D005682:Gadolinium