Oligodendroglioma with Sarcomatous Transformation: Case Report and Literature Review

Oligodendrogliomas are infiltrative tumors of the central nervous system considered to be morphologically stable and to offer a better prognosis. Here, we describe the case of a 36-year-old man with an initial diagnosis of oligodendroglioma, World Health Organization (WHO) grade II, who presented transformation to a sarcomatous form, while maintaining the oligodendroglial component as well as the genetic characteristics of the initial tumor without having undergone any complementary treatments previously. Despite the favorable genetic characteristics, the tumor presented poor response to complementary treatments, and rapid progression, including spinal metastasis.

Treatment of Glioma Using neuroArm Surgical System

The use of robotic technology in the surgical treatment of brain tumour promises increased precision and accuracy in the performance of surgery. Robotic manipulators may allow superior access to narrow surgical corridors compared to freehand or conventional neurosurgery. This paper reports values and ranges of tool-tissue interaction forces during the performance of glioma surgery using an MR compatible, image-guided neurosurgical robot called neuroArm. The system, capable of microsurgery and stereotaxy, was used in the surgical resection of glioma in seven cases. neuroArm is equipped with force sensors at the end-effector allowing quantification of tool-tissue interaction forces and transmits force of dissection to the surgeon sited at a remote workstation that includes a haptic interface. Interaction forces between the tool tips and the brain tissue were measured for each procedure, and the peak forces were quantified. Results showed maximum and minimum peak force values of 2.89 N (anaplastic astrocytoma, WHO grade III) and 0.50 N (anaplastic oligodendroglioma, WHO grade III), respectively, with the mean of peak forces varying from case to case, depending on type of the glioma. Mean values of the peak forces varied in range of 1.27 N (anaplastic astrocytoma, WHO grade III) to 1.89 N (glioblastoma with oligodendroglial component, WHO grade IV). In some cases, ANOVA test failed to reject the null hypothesis of equality in means of the peak forces measured. However, we could not find a relationship between forces exerted to the pathological tissue and its size, type, or location.

Intraoperative diagnosis of glioblastomamultiforme with oligodendroglial and sarcomatous components

ABSTRACTGlioblastoma, the most frequent primary brain tumor and the most malignant neoplasm, can have the most heterogeneous morphological presentation. Along with classical morphological features, areas of oligodendroglial component and mesenchymal differentiation may be seen. The present case was a rare case of glioblastoma presenting with sarcomatous and oligodendroglial components. The case was diagnosed intraoperatively by squash and touch cytology and later on confirmed by histopathological study.