Malignancy grade and long-term survival in brain tumours of infancy and childhood

281 histologically verified brain tumours in children were revised and reclassified according to degree of histological malignancy. Survival graphs based on 100 per cent follow-up after 15-40 years show that, of those who survived for more than 1 month after diagnosis and possible operation, 40 per cent were still alive more than 15 years later. There was a clear correlation between survival and degree of malignancy. Sixty-five per cent of those with tumours of malignancy grade I and only 3 per cent of those with malignancy grade IV were alive after 15 years.