Differentiation of recurrent glioma from radiation damage can be a challeng
e to neurologists, neurosurgeons. neuroradiologists, and even neuropatholog
ists. We hypothesized that by evaluating sections of recurrent lesions with
proliferation markers we might objectively differentiate between radiation
damage gliosis and recurrent astrocytoma. We compared the labeling indices
of radiation damage and recurrent neoplasm immunohistochemically, using an
antibody to MIB-1, a monoclonal antibody to the Ki-67 proliferation marker
. Five of the six recurrent neoplasms were gliomas; four these were astrocy
tic tumors. In most cases, the MIB-1 LI of radiation damage was < 1% and th
e LI of recurrent neoplasm was > 3%, with pertinent exceptions. We discuss
our findings and their possible interpretation.