How are brain tumours generally classified?
• Slow growing = benign = Grade 1 = pilocytic or juvenile = low grade • Rapidly growing = malignant = Grade 3 or 4 = glioblastoma = high grade • Somewhere in between = aggressive = Grade 2 or 3 = anaplastic = medium grade Glioblastoma What is a glioblastoma? This is the name given to a highly malignant astrocytoma. The full name is glioblastoma multiforme or grade 4 astrocytoma. The name is less often used today as it has been superseded by simply…malignant glioma. Indeed, the 4 tier system of classifying these primary brain tumours has been replaced by the more simple 3 tier system, or WHO classification. In this system, gliomas can be either low grade, anaplastic or malignant. What is an Acoustic Neuroma? This is a very specific type of brain tumour that accounts for 8% of all intracranial tumours. It really should be called a vestibular schwannoma, as it neither arises from the acoustic nerve, nor is it a neuroma. They are more common in females, usually present with unilateral he
