This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Confirmation of diagnosis

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Two techniques are practiced to confirm a suspected diagnosis of astrocytoma:

  • burr hole biopsy - requires pre-operative cover to reduce risk of focal deficit or haemorrhage. A sample of tissue is aspirated through a brain cannula inserted into the abnormal region.

  • stereotactic biopsy guided by CT or MRI - suitable for small and/or deeply inaccessible lesions but small sample size extracted makes histological diagnosis difficult.

The accuracy of any method is reduced by the variation in malignancy in any one lesion. The highest grade obtained in the sample is used to classify the lesion.

Diagnostic biopsy followed by radiotherapy is often the treatment of choice in the elderly and those with marked disability, e.g. severe dysphasia. It is also used to treat hypothalamic astrocytomas which are inaccessible.

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Annotations allow you to add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation. E.g. a website or number. This information will always show when you visit this page.

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.