[Benign cerebral gliomas. Clinical and radiological characteristics]

Between July 1988 and July 1990, 42 patients with low-grade gliomas of the cerebrum were treated in our department. Their age ranged from six to 72, there were 27 males and 15 females. Seventy-nine percent of the patients had suffered from epileptic fits, in 69% it was the presenting symptom. Thirty-one percent had normal neurological examination. On CT-scanning most tumours were hypodense, one-third demonstrated enhancement after intravenous contrast. Midline shift suggested a grade two tumour, but otherwise it was not possible to distinguish between grade one and grade two tumours on CT or MR. There was an unaccountable overweight of tumours on the left side of the brain. Forty patients underwent surgery, in one-third a radical extirpation was undertaken. In six patients a biopsy was nondiagnostic. Twenty-five percent had postoperative radiation. Adult patients who suffer an epileptic seizure without any other obvious aetiology should have a CT or MR scan even in cases when the neurological examination is normal.