OBJECTIVES:
* To evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic relevance of various molecular, cytogenetic, and other tumor markers in high-grade glioma in paraffin-embedded tissue collected from patients enrolled in the Mayo Clinic or North Central Cancer Treatment Group (NCCTG) high-grade glioma trials conducted since 1979.
* To evaluate alterations of specific chromosomes and chromosomal regions including 7, 9p, 10p, 10q, 13q, 17p, 17q, 19q, 22q, X, and Y using PCR analysis of microsatellite repeats and FISH.
* To determine DNA ploidy by flow cytometric analysis.
* To examine various markers of cellular proliferation and cellular function including flow cytometric determination of %S-phase, %G2M, and immunohistochemical evaluation of PCNA, Ki-67, and p53.
* To evaluate additional markers identified by the Glioma Markers Network.
* To compare the incidence of markers in the major histologic subtypes (anaplastic astrocytoma \[AA\], anaplastic oligoastrocytoma \[AOA\], glioblastoma multiforme \[GBM\]) and to assess their correlation in the total group, as well as within each of these subtypes.
* To compare the ploidy determinations by FISH and flow cytometry.
OUTLINE: Paraffin-embedded tissue and peripheral blood samples, previously or currently collected from clinical trials participants at the time she/he enrolled in the trial, are evaluated for as many markers as possible, changes in cytogenic and molecular genetic tumor markers, frequency distributions of all tumor markers and histological and clinical variables by polymerase chain reaction, IHC, flow cytometry, and FISH analysis.
