Gliomatosis Cerebri

Gliomatosis Cerebri Overview

Gliomatosis cerebri (GC) is a rare diagnosis of brain cancer. As it most commonly presents itself as a diffusely infiltrating tumor involving at least three lobes of the brain. It is currently classified by the World Health Organization as a growth pattern, as these tumor cells spread in a distinct way. It is typically a high grade glioma. Gliomas involve the “glial” cells, or connective tissue of the brain.
Sometimes gliomatosis cerebri is considered a “mixed” glioma, when the tumor contains both astrocytes (a star-like shaped glial cell) and oligodendrocytes (another type of glial cell). Primary gliomatosis cerebri is more common in children and young adults, but there is a secondary type of gliomatosis cerebri that is found in adults.
It is generally considered a highly aggressive malignant tumor, which means it includes cancer cells, and is therefore a brain cancer. (Benign tumors do not contain cancer cells)
GC differs from most brain cancers in the way it grows. There generally is no tumor solid mass, but the cancer cells infiltrate through different parts of the brain as it grows. It is described as similar to sand spilling or milk spilling, where the tumor cells infiltrate in and around brain cells, instead of as a single mass which grows larger as one mass.