PILOCYTIC ASTROCYTOMAS IN ADULTS: A REVIEW

Resumo

This review aims to bring existing studies on pilocytic astrocytoma (PA) in adults, seeking a better understanding of tumor behavior in these patients. This study was conducted with the search for published studies available on NCBI, PubMed, MEDLINE, Scielo and Google Scholar, following the criteria of having useful information to understand pilocytic astrocytomas in adults or including important factors for comparison with the childhood tumor subtype. The points that are known so far about PAs in adults have been characterized. There is a decrease in survival of these patients depending on the location, especially over 60 years old and one of the factors that causes this is anaplasia, that may lead to malignant transformation of the tumor. Headache, visual disturbances, vertigo motor difficulties are some of the most common symptoms in these individuals and the preferential treatment is the total resection of the tumor. The patient's age group may be related to the aggressiveness of the tumor, and it is possible to infer that research in this area is still of quite importance and necessary for a deeper understanding of the development and behavior of pilocytic astrocytoma in adult patients.