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2008, Volume 24, Number 3, Page(s) 194-212
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Pathology of malignant gliomas: Challenges of everyday practice and the WHO 2007 |
Tarık TİHAN1, Ayça ERŞEN2 |
1 University of California, San Francisco, Department of Pathology, Neuropathology Unit, SAN FRANCISCO
2 Dokuz Eylül University, School of Medicine, Department of Pathology, İZMİR |
Keywords:
Malignant glioma, glioblastoma, oligodendroglioma, oligoastrocytoma, ependymoma |
The recent revision of the “2007 World Health Organization
Classification of Tumours of the Central Nervous
System” introduces a series of new entities and variants
in addition to bringing more clarity to existing
ones. It is critical for the practicing surgical pathologist
to be aware of these changes, especially those relating to
common primary tumors such as malignant gliomas.
This study presents a critical review of the changes and
attempts to provide practical insights for the surgical
pathologist.
The morphological spectrum of malignant gliomas is
quite diverse, and with definition of newer variants and
patterns, there is an increasing need to be more specific
on the type and the grade of these aggressive neoplasms.
The added value of special stains, immunohistochemistry
and molecular/genetic analysis is expected to
gradually increase in everyday practice. Thus, the surgical
pathologist must be in tune with the progress in
these fields and must be in a position to apply and interpret
these techniques.
Appropriate management of the patients and the correct
interpretation of the disease always depend on effective,
direct communication of the neuropathologist,
neuroradiologist and the neurosurgeon, coupled with
the application of carefully chosen ancillary techniques.
The combination of collaborative efforts and special
techniques is certain to be more critical in the future,
and effective utilization of all these elements will better
characterize these neoplasms and improve patient management.
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