What is Low Grade Glioma?
Low grade glioma in children is a very common form of solid tumor after leukemia. In low grade glioma, the tumor cells look like normal brain cells and are mostly benign in nature. However, with time, they may turn into malignant brain tumors (cancerous tumors). There are different types of low grade gliomas that are sub divided on the basis of their appearance under a microscope. The commonly seen low grade glioma are as follows: Diffuse Astrocytomas Fibrillary astrocytoma or diffuse astrocytomas are the most commonly seen low grade glioma that affect people who are in their late 30’s. Pilocytic Astrocytomas The pilocytic astrocytomas progress very slowly and affect people who are under 25 years of age. Oligodendrogliomas These are slow growing tumors and it is very important to distinguish oligodendrogliomas from pilocytic astrocytomas. Gangliogliomas The gangliogliomas have characteristics similar to gliomas as well as tumors of the neurons. They are very slow growing tumors. Mixed
