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Age-dependent rate of anaplastic
transformation in low-grade astrocytoma
Saad Shafqat, MD, PhD,
E. Tessa Hedley- Whyte, MD and John W. Henson, MD
From the Brain Tumor Center (Drs.
Shafqat and Henson), Neurology Service (Drs. Shafqat, Hedley-Whyte,
and Henson), and Division of Neuropathology (Dr. Hedley-Whyte),
Massachusetts General Hospital; and Departments of Neurology and
Pathology (Drs. Shafqat, Hedley-Whyte, and Henson), Harvard Medical
School, Boston, MA. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr.
John W. Henson, Brain Tumor Center, Massachusetts General Hospital,
100 Blossom Street, Boston, MA 02114.
Age and histologic grade are
interrelated characteristics of diffuse fibrillary
astrocytomas, because the peak age incidence rises with
increasing grade.
The relationship between age and grade may be explained if
age determines the rate of anaplastic progression in
astrocytomas.
The authors tested this hypothesis by determining the
interval between diagnosis of low-grade astrocytoma and
progression to high-grade astrocytoma in patients of various ages.
A two-way scatterplot of age at initial diagnosis versus interval
to anaplastic progression demonstrated a strong negative correlation
(n = 24; Pearson correlation coefficient = -0.83; Spearman
correlation coefficient = -0.79; p < 0.001 for both values).
It was concluded that the rate of anaplastic progression in
low-grade astrocytoma is directly correlated with patient age.
© 1999 American Academy of
Neurology
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