Lack of evidence of osteo-medullary metastases at diagnosis in patients with high grade gliomas.

High grade gliomas usually show a transient response to standard therapy by radiation. A local evolution leads to patient death in most of the cases. Necropsic series suggest that metastatic evolution is rather frequent in lungs, lymph nodes, bones or bone marrow. Are these metastatic deposits present initially? The authors retrospectively reviewed the bone marrow smears performed in 20 patients and the bone scans in 10 patients with high grade gliomas at time of diagnosis. None of these investigations showed metastatic deposits. It is thus suggested that metastatic deposits are probably a late event in the natural history of high grade gliomas. However, if local treatment could reach local control, metastases would probably become a major problem. Thus definitive cure of high grade glioma may require multidisciplinary approach.