Doctors at Universitätsklinikum Erlangen’s Department of Neurosurgery have developed a procedure for analysing radiological imaging scans which could lead to more reliable prognoses for malignant gliomas. The findings have been published in Scientific Reports.

The new classification system is called The Friedlein Grading A/B (FGA/B) classification system and is so named after the physician Katharina Friedlein. It is believed that this new system is a quick and precise way of determining whether surgical removal is the best possible treatment method for a given tumour. 

The primary methodology of the classification system is that it classifies tumours according to their position in the brain in the context of a routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. Tumours that are not located in functional brain regions or that are located at a certain distance from such regions are classified as FGA, while tumours that are close to or inside a functional brain region are classified as FGB.

Under this new system, healthcare providers can better plan the consequences of tumour surgery and are in a better position to gauge the success of the treatment. 

‘There have already been several attempts in medicine to develop such a classification system. However, most approaches were too complicated and were based on academic values only, which made it difficult to use them in clinical practice,’ says PD Dr. Nicolai Savaskan from FAU’s Chair of Neurosurgery. ‘The FGA/B method can be applied on the basis of a standard MRI scan which glioma patients have to undergo anyway and is highly reliable despite being so simple. We hope that our colleagues in neurosurgery departments in smaller hospitals will also be able to use it successfully in everyday clinical practice.’

Source: Universitätsklinikum Erlangen

Image Credit: Nicolai Savaskan

«« Ankle Injuries in Children Don't Always Need an X-Ray


PET/CT Method Can Help Detect ‘Hardening’ of the Arteries »»



Latest Articles

The Friedlein Grading A/B (FGA/B) classification system, classification of tumours, surgery, MRI scan, glioma patients, neurosurgery Doctors at Universitätsklinikum Erlangen’s Department of Neurosurgery have developed a procedure for analysing radiological imaging scans which could lead to more reliable prognoses for malignant gliomas.