SURVIVAL OF BRAIN ASTROCYTOMA PATIENTS CONSIDERING PREOPERATIVE TUMOR SIZE

• Published in: Acta Medica Medianae Vol. 46; no. 1; pp. 17 - 20
• Main Authors: Goran Ignjatovic, Milos Janicijevic, Milorad Babic, Aleksandar Kostic
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: University in Nis, Faculty of Medicine 01.01.2007
• Subjects: brain astrocytoma; survival; tumor size
• ISSN: 0365-4478

Actual neuroradiological diagnostics of the brain tumors, including astrocytomas, is of great influence on successful planning and realization of the tumor resection, considering the fact that it is often preoperative. CT diagnostics is the most frequently used method of the brain tumor visualization in Serbia, due to height reliability, short time of the exposition, lower costs, and wide using even in smaller health centers, comparing to competitive methods. In our study, we examined 63 patients of different sex and age, which have been operated for a brain tumor at the Neurosurgery Clinic in Nis. Brain astrocytoma has been found in all patients after pathohistological evaluation of the operatively resected material. All patients had maximal reduction of the tumor bulk and postoperatively were treated according to current oncological protocols. The preoperative CT parameter-tumor size was correlated to survival.The most often tumor bulk was presented as medium-sized, average diameter between 25 and 50 mm (34 patients). Large tumor bulk with average diameter over 50mm was found in 17 patients and quite rarely the tumor presented as small, with average diameter less then 25 mm, which was registered in 12 patients. Patients that had large tumor masses lived significant shorter (24 weeks) compared to patients that had medium-sized or small tumors (97 and 84 weeks, respectively).