Expert: Claes-Gustaf Nordquist, M.D. - 9/23/2011

Question
Hi. My mom passed from an anaplastic astrocytoma in 2002. She was diagnosed in March 2001.Before March you could tell that there was something going on because she didn't know where she was or forgot that she talked to me yesterday when she would call. Her right arm would also shake. She was able to speak and understand you. After they did the biopsy she immediately became worse and mixed up words so that you couldn't understand her. She went downhill from there and passed away in 2002. My question (which has been in my head for 9 years and never bothered to ask) was why did she grow worse so quickly after the biopsy ? And there was talk that she had this astrocytoma since she was a child. She had horrible headaches her whole life. Is it possible that she had this tumor that long ? She was 60 when she died. Also , have they made any strides in curing this terrible cancer ? Thank you...

Answer
There may have been a bleeding in her tumor after the biopsy was done. That may have increased her symptoms. However such a tumor SEEMS to grow faster when it gets bigger even though that in reality is an illusion. The reason for this is that since there is a constant growth in the NUMBER of tumor cells over time a tumor grows as fast from 2 to 4 inches in size as it grew earlier from 1 to 2 inches in size. So it looks as if it grows faster over time (and thereby gives more symptoms) even though the growth rate is constant. No she could NOT have had it from childhood. Anaplastic astrocytomas are rather fast growing tumors and the survival time you mention from diagnosis is about normal for this diagnosis. Had she had it much earlier she would also have died quite earlier. That she had head aches (a rather common symptom even without brain tumors) was just a coincidence. No the situation is on this point about as bad as before unfortunately!



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