Pilocytic Astrocytoma

Tumour Group:

Astrocytoma and Pediatric Brain Tumour

WHO Grade:

Grade I - Also called Juvenile Pilocytic Astrocytoma (JPA)

Prevalence/Incidence:

Pilocytic astrocytomas comprise approximately 5-6% of all gliomas. This tumour type has an overall incidence of 0.37 per 100,000 persons per year.

Typical Age Range:

Pilocytic astrocytomas are typically seen in children and young adults. They can occur at all ages in children and teens, but the median age for a juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma (JPA) is 5 to 14 years. This tumour type is unusual in infants and very rare in adults.

Tumour Characteristics

Slow growing, with relatively well-defined borders
Grows in the cerebrum, optic nerve pathways, brain stem and cerebellum
Occurs most often in children and teens
Considered the most non-malignant of all the astrocytomas

Symptoms

Common symptoms include, but are not necessarily limited to:

Headaches
Seizures
Memory loss
Changes in behaviour

Treatment/Standard of Care

Surgery is the standard treatment. If total removal is not possible, chemotherapy and / or radiation may be offered.

Prognosis

A prognosis is an estimate of the likely progress of a disease after a diagnosis, based on an average patient group. Since every person is different, please take time to talk with your health care team about how this information applies to you.

By clicking on 'expand', a statistic on the prognosis for Pilocytic Astrocytoma will be shown.

For brain tumour patients, a prognosis depends on several factors, which can include age and other health issues, the size of the tumour, its molecular profile, the type of tumour, how much can be removed and its response to treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

For low-grade astrocytoma’s, the 10-year overall survival was 83% in a large retrospective series. There was improved survival with:

Pilocytic astrocytoma
Hemispheric tumour location
Greater extent of resection

Stay Informed!

Brain Tumour Types