How is diffuse astrocytoma diagnosed?

How is diffuse astrocytoma diagnosed?

Diffuse astrocytoma (World Health Organization [WHO] grade II) is an infiltrating tumor that may be difficult to diagnose on standard hematoxylin and eosin stains, particularly on small biopsies. The major differential diagnosis is reactive astrocytosis in the setting of a non-neoplastic process.

What cells does GFAP stain?

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is an intermediate filament protein of 52 kDa found in glial cells, astrocytes, and ependymal cells. Immunoperoxidase staining for GFAP produces intense cytoplasmic staining of astrocytes, glial cells, and ependymal cells in normal brain.

What does GFAP stand for?

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is an intermediate filament, which provides mechanical support to cells.

Where is GFAP found?

astrocytes
Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was first isolated in 1971 and is only found in glial cells of the CNS, constituting the major part of the cytoskeleton of astrocytes. GFAP is a biomarker for astroglial injury, as is S100β.

Is diffuse astrocytoma malignant?

Although grade II astrocytoma is a relatively slow growing tumour with a median survival time of 5-8 years, they have a high recurrence rate due to diffuse infiltration of brain tissue and an inherent malignant potential to transform into high-grade astrocytoma, such as anaplastic astrocytoma and secondary glioblastoma …

What is a diffuse astrocytoma?

Diffuse astrocytoma, as the name suggests, is a tumor with ill-defined boundaries – small clusters of tumor cells tend to grow into and infiltrate neighboring, healthy tissue. For this reason, it may be difficult to completely remove these tumors during surgery.

Why is GFAP important?

GFAP is an intermediate filament protein (Eng et al., 2000) expressed primarily by astrocytes in the CNS. Its main function is to maintain astrocyte structural integrity and aid in cell movement and shape change (Eng et al., 2000).

Is GFAP expression in astrocytoma a direct indication of glial differentiation?

However, since GFAP is not only expressed by mature astrocytes but also by radial glia during development and neural stem cells in the adult brain, we hypothesized that GFAP expression in astrocytoma might not be a direct indication of glial differentiation and a less malignant phenotype.

What does diffuse astrocytoma mean?

Diffuse astrocytoma. Diffuse astrocytoma (AKA: diffuse, low-grade astrocytoma) is a infiltrating astrocytoma occurring in the CNS white matter. Most common grade II WHO glioma in adults (peaks between 30-40 years). 10-15% of all astrocytomas. Usually shows progression to glioblastoma sooner or later.

What is a low grade astrocytoma?

Diffuse astrocytoma (AKA: diffuse, low-grade astrocytoma) is a infiltrating astrocytoma occurring in the CNS white matter. Most common grade II WHO glioma in adults (peaks between 30-40 years). 10-15% of all astrocytomas. Usually shows progression to glioblastoma sooner or later.

Is there a difference between glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) staining?

Immunohistochemical staining for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is standard for visualization of reactive astrocytes in tissue sections, whereas various forms of astrocytic damage remain to be described in detail. In this study we tested differences in GFAP labeling in reactive astrocytes and in glial cells damaged by ischemia and edema.