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Oligodendrogliomas. Part II: A new grading system based on morphological and imaging criteria

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Abstract

This second part of our study of ‘pure’ oligodendrogliomas focuses on survival data analysis. In order to identify potentially useful prognostic factors and to assess the effectiveness of a new grading system, the 79 patients in the previously analyzed series for whom adequate follow-up could be obtained (52%) were entered in the present analysis. Statistical analysis demonstrated that contrast enhancement and endothelial hyperplasia had powerful and similar influence on survival. Median survival with and without contrast enhancement were: 3 versus 11 years, and with or without endothelial hyperplasia were: 3.5 versus 11 years. Conversely, the degree of nuclear atypia and presence or absence of mitosis or necrosis were not correlated with survival. These findings allowed us to devise a simple grading system which discriminates two malignancy grades as follows: absence of endothelial hyperplasia and of contrast enhancement=Grade A, presence of endothelial hyperplasia and/or of contrast enhancement=Grade B. Of the 79 oligodendrogliomas in this study, 59 tumors were categorized as grade A and 20 as grade B. Median survival were: 11 years in grade A and 3.5 years in grade B. Five-year and 8-year survival rates were: 89% and 60% in grade A and: 33% and 15% in grade B. Double blind grading between two independent observers was concordant in 96% of the cases. Application of this simple efficient and reproducible grading scheme should permit reliable comparison of retrospective or prospective therapeutic data emanating from various institutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology-Neurooncology, France

    Catherine Daumas-Duport, Marie-Louise Tucker, Harry Kolles, Pascale Cervera, Fréderic Beuvon & Pascale Varlet

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Hôpital Sainte-Anne and Faculté Cochin Port-Royal, Paris, France

    Naoko Udo, Maria Koziak & Jean-Paul Chodkiewicz

Authors
  1. Catherine Daumas-Duport
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  2. Marie-Louise Tucker
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  3. Harry Kolles
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  4. Pascale Cervera
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  5. Fréderic Beuvon
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  6. Pascale Varlet
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  7. Naoko Udo
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  8. Maria Koziak
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  9. Jean-Paul Chodkiewicz
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Daumas-Duport, C., Tucker, ML., Kolles, H. et al. Oligodendrogliomas. Part II: A new grading system based on morphological and imaging criteria. J Neurooncol 34, 61–78 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005759220434

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