Brain tumor pathology
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Brain tumor pathology · Apr 2016
Case ReportsEpithelioid/rhabdoid glioblastoma: a highly aggressive subtype of glioblastoma.
Epithelioid glioblastoma (GBM) and rhabdoid GBM are rare variants that are morphologically similar, but there is no consensus on the characteristics of each disease. These tumors have aggressive features of early recurrence and leptomeningeal dissemination and tend to develop in younger patients compared to typical GBM. The prognosis is normally worse than typical GBM, even with intensive chemoradiotherapy after surgical resection. ⋯ Two cases had a BRAF V600E mutation, whereas no ATRX mutation was present in any cases. All patients suffered leptomeningeal and/or spinal dissemination that worsened their prognosis. These results illustrate the need for a new therapeutic approach, such as molecular targeted drug therapy like BRAF inhibition, in addition to standard chemoradiotherapy for typical GBM.