Anaplastic pleomorphic xanthoastrocytomas (PXAs) are rare and poorly understood brain and spinal cord cancers which were not recognized as potentially deadly throughout the world until 2016.
Except for small studies that found a few important genetic abnormalities (e.g., BRAF gene mutations), there is limited understanding of the molecular characteristics and potential markers of disease aggressiveness in anaplastic PXAs.
We started a multi-institutional study with more than 10 institutions in the US to perform detailed evaluation of clinical, radiologic, and molecular characteristics in patients with anaplastic PXAs.
