Peritumoral edema and karyometric variables in astrocytoma of the brain.

Peritumoral edema and karyometric variables in astrocytoma of the brain.
J BUON. 2007 Apr-Jun

Kostic A, Mihailovic D, Veselinovic S, Tasic G, Radulovic D, Stefanovic I.
Clinic of Neurosurgery, Clinical Centre Nis, Nis, Serbia.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate karyometry as a quantitative and objective histological method by showing correlation of some karyometric variables with the severity of peritumoral edema in patients with brain astrocytoma.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: 63 patients of different ages and both genders were enrolled. The patients were diagnosed with astrocytoma of the brain, histologically confi rmed on the surgically removed material. Maximal tumor excision was performed in all patients, who were postoperatively treated according to current oncologic therapeutic protocols. The intensity of perifocal edema (preoperative CT scan) was correlated to the duration of survival and the values of 9 karyometric tumor variables: area, density, maximal axis, mean axis, circumference, roundness, integrated optical density and number of nuclei.

RESULTS: There were 17 cases with small perifocal edema, 19 with medium-sized and 27 with large perifocal edema, and their respective survival was around 149, 62 and 48 weeks. Those with small edema had statistically signifi cant prolonged survival compared to those with medium and large perifocal edema (log-rank test, p=0.045). Six out of 9 karyometric variables examined were signifi cantly related (p<0.05)>

CONCLUSION: Patients with larger peritumoral edema have shorter survival. Correlation of karyometric variables with CT fi ndings revealed that higher degrees of tumor cellularity and nuclear wrinkling with increased integrated optical density is associated with larger peritumoral edema.

PMID: 17600879 [PubMed - in process]