{"id":11781,"date":"2016-06-09T06:32:42","date_gmt":"2016-06-09T05:32:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.neurocirugiabarcelona.com\/patologias\/tumores-cerebrales\/gliales\/astrocitomas\/"},"modified":"2019-01-26T12:46:39","modified_gmt":"2019-01-26T11:46:39","slug":"astrocytomas","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.neurocirugiabarcelona.com\/en\/pathologies\/brain-tumours\/glial-tumours\/astrocytomas\/","title":{"rendered":"Astrocytomas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Astrocytomas<\/strong> form part of the group of gliomas (glial tumours<\/strong>), they are primary brain tumours, that is, tumours that originate in cells that form part of the normal brain structure. Within the group of glial tumours<\/strong>, astrocytomas<\/strong> represent the most frequent tumours.\"Astrocitomas\"<\/a><\/p>\n

They may be located at any point of the neural axis (brain and spinal cord) even though they are especially common at a level of the cerebral hemispheres. Gliomas of the optic nerve, thalamic astrocytomas and astrocytomas of the brain stem and spinal cord are worth special mention as they present particular characteristics regarding their location and histology and so personalised treatment is recommended for this type of lesion.<\/p>\n

The symptomatology presented by these tumours is quite similar to other cerebral lesions, headache, vomiting, gait disorders, seizures, etc. the symptoms may be brought about by invasion of the tumour into area responsible for these functions, by the oedema (swelling) these lesions produce in the brain or by the simple compressive effect they have on healthy surrounding tissue.<\/p>\n

Astrocytomas make up a heterogeneous group, classified by the WHO in four degrees (1993) based on their histological characteristics:<\/p>\n