title: Brain stem gliomas: a clinicopathological study from a single cancer center.
abstract: Brain stem gliomas (BSG) are rare tumors occurring predominantly in childhood. They are mostly of astrocytic origin and are divided into infiltrative versus circumscribed types, with different prognoses. The diagnosis is mainly based on MRI findings, and biopsy is rarely performed. This is a retrospective study of BSG with available biopsies diagnosed at our center over 6-year period. Fifteen cases were identified, with a predominance of females. The median age was 7 years, and the mean duration of symptoms was <6 weeks in 58.3% (n = 7) of cases. MRI was typical of diffuse pontine gliomas in 64.3% (n = 9) of cases. Radiotherapy was the commonest modality of treatment, and the median overall survival was 21.7 months. Twelve cases were consistent with infiltrative astrocytoma of various grades (2 grade II, 7 grade III and 3 grade IV). Entrapped normal neurons and mitosis were the commonest findings indicating infiltrative growth and high grade, respectively, and those correlated significantly with immunostaining for neurofilament protein and Ki-67 of ≥3%. Overall survival correlated only with the duration of symptoms and tumor grade on biopsies. A limited panel of immunostains might be useful in undetermined cases to decide on the growth pattern and grade.
authors: Department of Pathology, King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC), Queen Rania Street, P.O. Box 1269, Al-Jubeiha, Amman, 11941, Jordan. mhussaini@khcc.jo
authors: Maysa
authors: M
authors: Al-Hussaini
authors: Usama
authors: U
authors: Al-Jumaily
authors: Maisa
authors: M
authors: Swaidan
authors: Awni
authors: A
authors: Musharbash
authors: Sameh
authors: S
authors: Hashem
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000532:radiotherapy; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001706:Biopsy; D020295:Brain Stem Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005910:Glioma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D016900:Neurofilament Proteins