Gliosarcoma

can gliosarcoma spread from brain to other organs or does it only stay in the brain?

According to wikipedia, it can spread to the lungs, liver or lymph nodes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliosarcoma

On Jun 21, 2012 12:23 PM siblingof wrote:

According to wikipedia, it can spread to the lungs, liver or lymph nodes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliosarcoma "" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliosarcoma " target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliosarcoma

I read that on wikipedia before, but my daughter-in-law's oncologist told us that since it started in the brain that it would not go anywhere else.  Now, she is having trouble with her lungs.  One lung is 90% filled with fluid.  They drained over 1,000 ccs off and didnt' even get half.  They make comments that it could be infection, side affect of chemo or the cancer has spread.  I was just wondering if could spread.  The oncologist told us at the beginning at the cancer diagnosis that it wouldn't spread. I guess I am just looking for reassurance that it hasn't.

Since you say oncologist: Not a neuro-oncologist? Regular glioblastoma almost never metastasizes outside the central nervous system. It can metastisize to the spine; see the post right beside yours on the board for example. So if your onc is not an n-o it's possible she is confusing gliosarcoma with regular glioblastoma. I have found all the wiki articles on glioblastoma to be accurate heretofore. It could be pneumonia. But I think you are now in second opinion land. Your daughter-in-law should see an n-o at one of the brain tumor centers.

Absolutely, Albeit rare it does happen in about 2% of cases. It appears that it is the sarcomatous aspect of this biphasic beast that tends to metastasis according to the literature i have come across. I see there is a thread below with respect to GBM and metastais to spine and this is well documented as well. I will attach a few links that support the wikipedeia stats as well. I would also agree with "siblingof" that if u do not have a NO you need to seek one out fast.  This became apparent to us in March when my wife's MRI showed enhancement.( Although we have a excellent NO out of town we thought it would be good to have a onclolgist locally that we could work with as well. ) . When we met with the local oncologist after the MRI in question and going over it with her we were shocked to see her pointing to parts of the brain that were not even in question. She was clueless with all due respect.  She just doesnt have the experience to deal with this. (By the way my wifes has a gliosarcoma as well and is doing fine. only one year out).

Here is a extract and a few links:

Metastasis

Extracranial metastases from cerebral gliomas, including GBM, are very rare, while the propensity for gliosarcomas to metastasize is well established. Even in the early days of Feigin, several authors reported cases of metastatic foci that contained admixtures of both gliomatous and sarcomatous elements [2,31,32]. The presence of these metastases was a large contribution to the premise that PGS are a clinically separate entity from GBM and truly biphasic in nature. Smith and colleages [33] in the largest metastatic case series to date of seven cases of gliosarcomas, observed that in two cases, the metastatic foci were composed solely of the sarcomatous component. Other case reports followed with similar findings of sarcomatous elements alone in metastases [25,34–36]. These observations have generated the belief that the metastatic potential of gliosarcoma is due to the sarcoma component and ultimately reflects the strong propensity of sarcomatous neoplasms to disseminate hematogenously.

Most extracranial metastases of gliosarcoma are located in the lung and liver, and there are reports of metastatic foci in cervical lymph nodes, spleen, adrenal glands, kidneys, oral mucosa, skin, bone marrow, skull, ribs, and spine [10,31–40]. Intramedullary metastasis to the cervical spine has also been observed [41]. There is a rare case of widespread extracranial metastases with intravascular tumor emboli, which is also consistent with the concept that gliosarcoma metastasize via a hematogenous route [25].

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2808523/

www.mdpi.com /2072-6694/3/1/461/pdf

http://www.tumorionline.it/allegati/00328_2008_01/fulltext/0

Best wishes,

Steve

Our world just stopped. Amy is one of those rare cases where the cancer has spread. It is in her lungs. We are waiting on pathology report to confirm that it is sarcoma. They are researching clinical trials but it is so rare they don't even know if there are any. If nothing changes it looks like a few weeks or months before we reach the end of journey. How do you answer a 10 year old when she asks if she caused the cancer and tells you it is not fair? How do you face looking at your son when his world is turned upside down and he is left raising two little girls without her? How do you not be mad at God?

Yankmom, I'm so sorry to hear this. If I believed in God I'd certainly be angry at him; it's a perfectly justifiable emotion at this point. I hope they find something they can try. Meanwhile, I think just reassuring the children that they didn't do anything to cause the cancer is really important.

My heart goes out to your son and his family. It just doesn't seem fair. I have no words to say.  I know how hard it was for me when i had to sit our two children down and explain the circumstances to them. When my 10 year old (at the time) daughter asked if "mom was going to die' . How do you answer that?  I too remember being "mad at GOD".  My wife's faith is so incredibly strong, and i just kept wondering how god could allow this to happen. I will keep your family in my prayers and will pray for miracles.

Steve

Thank you for your response. We are headed home with hospice. Psychologist is meeting with girls today. Hopefully they will find sone comfort from his words.

Debbie Had meeting with her oncologist. She is afraid cancer has spread to bone marrow because her platelets have stayed low all month. It is so rare for it to move from brain that there are only 30 cases. And, of those 30 cases all are a lot older and mostly male. She also believes that it is aggressively attacking the brain again. So if chest xray comes out ok in morning she will go home tomorrow with hospice care. They have been very compassionate. Psychologist met with Trav and Amy. They are going to talk to girls when they get home.