Gliofibromas (including malignant forms), and gliosarcomas: a comparative study and review of the literature

The presence of connective tissue elements in gliomas necessitates in every case a thorough analysis of the character and derivation of such elements to allow the formulation of an appropriate diagnosis. Four cases are presented in this paper. In cases 1 and 2 (anaplastic astrocytomas in two children, 9 and 4 years old, respectively) all the neoplastic elements were astrocytes and their ability to produce or indirectly promote the production of reticulin and collagen fibers accounted for the presence of such elements in close association with the tumor cells. The term "gliofibroma" has been coined for such tumors, but "desmoplastic astrocytoma", (low grade or anaplastic) or in highly malignant cases "desmoplastic glioblastoma", as the case may be, also seem to be appropriate terms for such neoplasms. In contrast, cases 3 and 4 represented composite tumors in adults (66 and 58 years old, respectively) and the neoplasms of these patients consisted of glioblastoma and sarcoma, the latter component demonstrably being of vascular origin. This is the type of tumor usually referred to as gliosarcoma or "Feigin tumor". Although some apparent similarities between the two groups may exist at times, the histogenesis of the latter group's sarcomatous or sarcoma-like portions is different from that of the first group and, therefore, warrants separate diagnostic terms and placement in brain tumor classification.