Objective: To explore the diagnosis and treatment of multicentric glioma and discuss its underlying pathological mechanism.
Methods: The clinical cases of multicentric glioma at our department were prospectively collected from January 2012 to December 2014. A total of 62 cases, along with the literally reported cases with relative complete data, were studied with Kaplan-Meier and COX regression to identify the prognostic factors of disease.
Results: The median age was 55.3 ± 14.3 (11-78) years. The ratio of male-to-female was 1. 27. There were synchronous (n = 48) and multichronous (n = 13) multicentric gliomas. The median survival time was 8 months and 7 months if calculated from the appearance of new tumor. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the survival time was correlated with age, resection of tumor, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. And COX regression analysis indicated that only resection of tumor (s) and chemotherapy were independently correlated with the prognosis of multicentric glioma. Conclusion Multicentric glioma is mainly of high-grade glioma with a very poor prognosis. Total resection and standard chemotherapy yield a better prognosis. Radiotherapy should be prudent if there are signs of intracranial hypertension.