brain tumor

What can you tell me about an oligodendroglioma? Does it always recur? How well does it respond to treatments other than surgery (ex: chemo and radiation)? Is it possible to ever remove and/or kill the entire tumor? Is it considered to be "curable"? What it life expectancy like after treatment?
All online research up until this point has been so negative. Interested in an opinion from a Dr. on a respected and legitimate site like your own.

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-JT]

Let's start with the basics. Oligodendroglia are normal cells that we all have that provide structural support and maintenance for a special type of brain tissue called myelin. When there's abnormal growth of these cells constituting a tumor, it is now called an oligodendroglioma.  These are generally slow growing tumors (many years) that are prone sometimes to bleeding and then calcification. I have personally seen patients who were alive and relatively independent 20years after they were found to have an oligo.  Clinically, they can manifest as seizures or weakness/sensory loss etc... depending on where the tumor is. In the last 10 years, they have made amazing strides in chemo and radiation treatment with regards to genetics. This means that if you were born with certain gene changes, the literature reports that you could potentially have a 95% 5yr survival with certain chemo regimens. 5 year survival rate is the way that we comment on cancer survival rather than life expectancy and 95% is excellent. Hope that helps.