“…4,7,11) However, astrocytoma is thought to imply worse functional prognosis than ependymoma, 3,5) because astrocytoma is less well circumscribed than ependymoma, including higher grade tumors, so total resection, which is the key for good prognosis, might be less feasible in patients with astrocytoma. 3,5,8,13) Some authors deny any correlation between radical resection and good postoperative outcome for low grade astrocytomas, 5,8) whereas others propose complete removal as a significant predicting factor for good prognosis. 2,10,13) These discrepancies may result from the inclusion of subependymoma (World Health Organization Atypidal Cervical Astrocytoma Manifesting as Occipitalgia grade I), which usually grows eccentrically within the spinal cord or exophytically, demonstrating sparse cellularity, clustering of cells, and dense fibrillary stroma.…”