While it is rare, accounting for only two percent of all brain tumors, anaplastic astrocytoma is a grade-III brain tumor, meaning it grows fast and is very aggressive.

This tumor type invades neighboring tissue in the brain and can have a great impact on quality of life. Many patients experience paralysis and develop speech impediments requiring rehabilitation.

Most anaplastic astrocytomas have no discernible cause, although an extremely small percentage of malignant tumors are linked to a hereditary predisposition, and some have been associated with exposure to vinyl chloride and high doses of radiation therapy to the brain. Anaplastic astrocytomas are common in people in their 30s, 40s and 50s, mostly men.

Symptoms

• Headache
• Depressed mental state
• Neurological deficits
• Seizures