Prognosis of gliomas in the 1970s and today.

The benefit of the current strategy for diagnosis (magnetic resonance, [MR] imaging) and treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy) of gliomas, in contrast to the standard treatment in use before MR imaging and the microsurgical era, has not yet been determined. A retrospective statistical analysis was performed for all patients with glioma who underwent surgery at a single institution between 1965 and 1974 (Group I, 88 patients) or 1986 and 1995 (Group II, 249 patients). There were no major differences in symptomatology, tumor localization, and number of surgical procedures.