Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 13, 2026
Co-culture of Glutamatergic Neurons and Pediatric High-Grade Glioma Cells Into Microfluidic Devices to Assess Electrical Interactions
Published on: November 17, 2021
Two cases of pediatric high-grade astroblastoma with different clinical behavior
Stefano Mastrangelo1, Libero Lauriola, Paola Coccia
1Division of Pediatric Oncology, Catholic University Rome, Italy. stefano.mastrangelo@rm.unicatt.it
Insights
High-grade astroblastoma, a rare pediatric glial tumor, shows variable clinical courses. The proliferative index may help predict prognosis in these challenging cases.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Neuro-oncology
- Tumor Biology
Background:
- Astroblastoma is a rare glial tumor affecting older children, classified histologically as low or high-grade.
- Treatment typically involves surgery and radiotherapy, but outcomes can be unpredictable.
Observation:
- This report details two pediatric cases of high-grade astroblastoma with differing clinical trajectories.
- One patient experienced multiple recurrences and disease progression over 10 years, despite multimodal therapy.
- The second patient achieved complete remission 54 months post-diagnosis following gross total resection after initial subtotal resection and radiotherapy.
Findings:
- Histological examination revealed differences between the tumors, notably in the proliferative index (30% vs. 5-10%).
- Despite both being high-grade, the tumors exhibited distinct behaviors, highlighting the heterogeneity of astroblastoma.
- The patient with a lower proliferative index had a more favorable outcome.
Implications:
- These cases underscore the unpredictable nature of high-grade astroblastoma, even after complete tumor excision.
- The proliferative index may serve as a valuable prognostic biomarker for stratifying risk in pediatric astroblastoma patients.
- Further research into prognostic markers is crucial for tailoring treatment strategies for rare pediatric brain tumors.
Abstract:
Astroblastoma is a rare glial tumor occurring in older children and defined by histological criteria as low or high-grade. We describe two children with high-grade astroblastoma. The first patient, with multiple recurrences of a frontoparietal tumor, died 10 years from diagnosis after progression of the disease despite surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The second patient underwent subtotal resection of a temporal mass; the residual tumor progressed five months after radiotherapy, but after a subsequent gross total resection the patient is now in complete remission 54 months from diagnosis. Although both patients had high-grade astroblastomas, there were histological differences between the two tumors, in particular regarding the proliferative index, which was 30% and 5-10%, respectively. High-grade astroblastoma is usually treated with surgery and radiotherapy, but may have an unpredictable behavior even when tumor excision is deemed complete. The two cases reported here illustrate the variable clinical course of this rare tumor. The proliferative index may be a useful tool to better define prognosis.
