Oligoastrocytoma
These tumors present with mixed glial cell origin between astrocytoma and oligodendrogliomas. With about 2.3% of all brain tumors being reported as oligoastrocytomas; these lesions are derived from cells responsible for the insulating and regulatory aspects of neuronal physiology.Median age of diagnosis is 42.5 years of age and tumors are further divided into low-grade and anaplastic variants.Anaplastic oligoastrocytomas show high cellularity, cytologic atypism (distorted cellular structure), and even microvascular proliferation.WHO grade II ratings are given to oligoastrocytomas and WHO grade III is given to anaplastic oligoastrocytomas. As of the 2016 update to tumor ratings by the WHO, the incidence for these tumors will be greatly reduced as a molecular determination of both cellular variants needs to be detected. CT/MRI can be used to determine anatomy of the tumor, but histological (biopsy) confirmation is needed to determine tumor type.Due to the multitude of areas that this tumor can impact, total resection is usually not the goal during surgery. Preservation of necessary brain structures is more important and thus, an emphasis on chemo/radiotherapy is often present.These tumors often have a high probability of recurrence and survival rates are impacted based on age of diagnosis and grade of tumor upon initial inspection. Young individuals are favored in the literature in terms of prognosis.