Epidermal growth factor receptor
Whereas the prognostic relevance of 1p and 19q deletions is well established for mixed oligoastrocytomas, the prognostic relevance of the deletions for low-grade gliomas is more controversial. In terms of low-grade gliomas, a recent study also suggests that 1p/19q co-deletion may be associated with a (1;19)(q10;p10) translocation which, like the combined 1p/19q deletion, is associated with superior overall survival and progression-free survival in low-grade glioma patients. Oligodendrogliomas show only rarely mutations in the p53 gene, which is in contrast to other gliomas. Epidermal growth factor receptor amplification and whole 1p/19q codeletion are mutually exclusive and predictive of completely different outcomes, with EGFR amplification predicting poor prognosis. There is a strong correlation between 1p/19q codeletion and the expression of proneural genes, suggesting that gliomas with a 1p19q codeletion represent a subgroup of proneural gliomas.