Understanding Your Grade of Brain Tumor

Before your doctor can recommend a treatment plan, he or she needs to know the grade of the cancer. The grade tells these things about the tumor.

• How malignant it is

• How likely it is that the cancer will spread to other parts of the brain

• How it might respond to treatment

A pathologist, a doctor who specializes in looking at tissue under a microscope, determines the grade by looking at the sample of tissue you had removed in a biopsy.

There are 4 grades of brain tumors. Grade I and II are also called low-grade tumors. Grade III and IV are also called high-grade, anaplastic, or malignant tumors.

• Grade I. Grade I tumors are the least malignant. Cells in a grade I tumor look like normal brain cells. Your doctor may remove grade I tumors with surgery, if it can be done safely. Or your doctor may follow the progress of a grade I tumor with yearly MRI scans.

• Grade II. Grade II tumors are also called low-grade glioma. These tumors have cells that are not normal when looked at under a microscope. They can grow and invade the tissues around them. Even if they are entirely removed with surgery, these tumors can come back at a higher grade.

• Grade III. Grade III tumors are also called anaplastic astrocytomas. They are malignant tumors. These tumors invade the tissues around them. When grade III tumors are removed with surgery, they usually grow back faster than grade II tumors. Grade III tumors frequently turn into grade IV tumors.

• Grade IV. Grade IV tumors are also called glioblastoma multiforme. They are the most malignant tumors. Grade IV tumor cells are very abnormal. They grow and die quickly. Grade IV tumors produce new blood vessels to help the tumor grow.