Reoperation for malignant astrocytoma.

We evaluated 15 consecutive patients with malignant astrocytomas who were reoperated for functional status and survival. Their Karnovsky Performance Status (KPS) was not changed by surgery. None suffered perioperative death, wound infection, or complications. Patients with glioblastoma maintained KPS unchanged for a mean of 13 weeks (median, 10 weeks); with anaplastic astrocytoma, mean, 37.2 weeks (median, 24 weeks). Life spans were approximately twice that of non-reoperated historical controls. Reoperation for patients with recurrent malignant astrocytoma should be seriously considered when a gross total re-resection can be the goal in a patient whose tumor is in an accessible brain region.