Background: To study patient characteristics, prognostic factors and overall survival (OS) in a consecutive, surgical series of WHO grade III anaplastic astrocytomas (AA).
Methods: Patients were identified from a prospective tumor database at Oslo University Hospital, Norway, and patients undergoing surgery for an AA from 2005-2012 were included. Patients' medical charts were retrospectively reviewed for data collection.
Results: A total of 99 adult patients with histologically verified AA were included. Median age was 52 years (20-81). Biopsy was conducted in 33 % and resection in 67 %. Adjuvant treatment with radiation therapy + temozolomide or radiation therapy only was given in 63 % and 26 %, respectively. The thirty-day mortality rate was 3 %. Median OS was 19 months (95 % CI 11-27 months). Age ≥ 65 years, KPS < 70, biopsy as opposed to resection, and no adjuvant treatment were confirmed negative prognostic factors in multivariate analysis. For patients undergoing resection, presence of postoperative contrast-enhanced tumor, not volume of residual tumor, had significant impact on OS in adjusted analysis.
Conclusions: Median OS following surgery was 19 months, though much variable outcome was observed among subgroups of AA (95 % CI 11-27 months). Age ≥65 years, KPS < 70, biopsy as opposed to resection, and no adjuvant treatment were confirmed negative prognostic factors for OS.