Definition
Fibrillary astrocytoma is the most common histological subtype of diffuse or low-grade astrocytoma (WHO Grade II). These low-grade gliomas may occur anywhere within the CNS but are typically supratentorial, most commonly found in the frontal and temporal lobes. Peak incidence is seen in adults between the ages of 30 and 40 years, with a slight predominance for males (1.18:1 male to female ratio). Mean survival time following diagnosis of fibrillary astrocytoma is 6–8 years (Walker and Kaye 2003).
Fibrillary astrocytomas are characterized by slow growth, diffuse infiltration of surrounding brain structures, and frequent malignant progression to higher-grade tumors (Kleihues et al. 2000). The most commonly present symptom is focal or generalized seizure (approximately 80% of patients), followed by focal neurological deficit (30%) (Wessels et al. 2003). While focal deficits...
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References and Readings
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Kleihues, P., Davis, R. L., Ohgaki, H., Burger, P. C., Westphal, M. M., & Cavenee, W. K. (2000). Diffuse astrocytoma. In P. Kleihues & W. K. Cavenee (Eds.), World Health Organization classification of tumours. Pathology & genetics. Tumours of the nervous system (pp. 22–26). Lyon: IARC Press.
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Tinker, J. (2017). Fibrillary Astrocytoma. In: Kreutzer, J., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_109-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56782-2_109-2
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