Optic glioma - Overview
Alternative Names
Glioma - optic; Optic nerve glioma
Definition of Optic glioma:
Gliomas are tumors that grow in various parts of the brain. Optic gliomas can affect:
- One or both of the optic nerves, which carry visual information to the brain from each eye
- The optic chiasm, the area where the optic nerves cross each other in front of the hypothalamus of the brain
An optic glioma may also grow along with a hypothalamic glioma.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors:
Optic gliomas are rare. The cause of optic gliomas is unknown. Most optic gliomas are slow-growing and noncancerous (benign) and occur in children, almost always before age 20.
There is a strong association between optic glioma and neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1).
- Reviewed last on: 3/2/2010
- David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., and Yi-Bin Chen, MD, Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Massachusetts General Hospital.
References
Karcioglu ZA, Haik BG. Eye, orbit, and adnexal structures. In: Abeloff MD, Armitage JO, Niederhuber JE, Kastan MB, McKenna WG, eds. Abeloff’s Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2008:chap 71.
