Treatment Outcomes and Prognostic Factors in Adult Astrocytoma: In North East of Iran

Astrocytomas are the most common primary adult brain tumors.
In this study, we investigated the impact of some potential prognostic factors on survival in patients with low and high grade astrocytomas.
Patients and This retrospective cohort study was performed on patients with brain astrocytoma who were referred to oncology departments, Omid and Ghaem hospitals, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (2000 - 2011).
415 patients with a median age of 43 and a male to female ratio of 252:163 (1.54) were recorded. Grade I to IV astrocytoma were found in 40 (9.6%), 88 (21.2%), 71 (17.1%) and 216 (52%) patients. With a median follow up time of 37 months for low grade and 13 months for high grade astrocytoma, the 5-year survival in grades I to IV was 92.1%, 69.1%, 49.2% and 9.6% respectively. In low grade astrocytomas, patients with grade I tumors, being ambulatory (5-year survival: 88% vs. 60.3%, P Performing optimal surgery and good performance status were associated with more favorable survival in both low and high grade astrocytomas. In high grade a strocytomas, patients younger than 43 and those who received chemotherapy had better overall survival.