Radiological and clinical outcome following stereotactic biopsy and radiotherapy for low-grade insular astrocytomas

Abstract

Thirty patients with low-grade (WHO Grade II) astrocytomas involving the insula, who had undergone stereotactic biopsy followed by radiotherapy, were followed up to evaluate the outcome with regard to control of seizures, memory and language function, Karnofsky Performance scale and regression in tumor volume. Patients were followed up for a mean of 27.8 months, during which time they showed improvement in all the factors that were studied. A statistically significant change was, however, seen only in the reduction in tumor size, probably due to the small sample size and the short duration of follow-up. Stereotactic biopsy followed by radiation therapy provides a good short-term outcome in patients with low-grade insular astrocytomas.