Expert: Claes-Gustaf Nordquist, M.D. - 6/29/2008

Question
QUESTION: I know some people who have not made it through a year after diagnosis and i know some that already have gone 5 years without any regrowth its all over the place everyone is different,if you were lucky to have 100 % resection your chances are great I think there is a good chance you are cured with the std treatment of radiation/low dose temodal(6 weeks), and the higher dose temodal 5 days on 23 off(at least 1 year), everyone is different and you just need to be lucky. would you agree with me Dr? I am almost 2 years post surgery and am still clean from tumour. I took 1 month breaks from the temodal due to feeling excessive toxicity, dizzyness etc....and will stop the treatment soon altogether, I do not think this thing will come back anymore, I hope to be from the few who can consider sort of cured if you can call it that.

Zachary
Montreal,Canada

ANSWER: The problem here is the quality of the diagnosis! Pathology diagnosis of brain tumours is a DIFFICULT matter! Normally, to be reasonably sure of the diagnosis it has to be done as a teamwork of cooperating and very experienced neuropathologists. In materials where the diagnosis of all cases have been checked this way the mortality rate is 100% after a certain time that can be somewhat different from case to case but is certainly not several years. That is all I can tell you on this matter!


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi,
I guess the mortality rate in all of us is 100% the question is when?? and from what. It is of course possible that my pathology was indeed not a gbm at all. actually my original pathology was oligodendrglioma grade 3 but then it was changed to gbm afterwards.so can you tell me for sure what i must do, or is it true nobody knows for sure?
even my Dr admitted to me that no one knows for sure.
what do you think of all this??

Answer
I see! Well then I actually think that your diagnosis of oligodendroglioma sounds much more probable! It has a more favourable prognosis. Even more so if also the GRADE was misevaluated. With a lower grade than 3 it would be even better. Correct grading is also HARD! But this is all speculation, I do NOT know, though I do not believe you had a glioblastoma multiforme! Yes we all have a mortality rate of 100%, but a GBM patient does not survive for 5 years!