ABSTRACT
The authors present an unusual case of a 13-yr-old boy with a 3-mo history of seizures. A CT scan showed a contrast-enhancing mass located in the left temporal lobe. The patient underwent a stereotatic-guided craniotomy; intraoperative cytological diagnosis was performed by the smear technique, showing a pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma. The tumor was totally resected. Definitive diagnosis was established by examination of paraffin-embedded material. Six months after the surgical intervention, the patient is doing well, with no radiological evidence of recurrence. The cytological differential diagnosis of giant cell lesions of the central nervous system is emphasized.
Subject(s)
Astrocytoma/diagnosis , Brain Neoplasms/diagnosis , Adolescent , Anticonvulsants/therapeutic use , Astrocytoma/surgery , Astrocytoma/therapy , Brain Neoplasms/surgery , Brain Neoplasms/therapy , Carbamazepine/therapeutic use , Cytodiagnosis , Giant Cells/chemistry , Giant Cells/pathology , Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein/analysis , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Intraoperative Period , Male , Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen/metabolismABSTRACT
Infantile desmoplastic gangliogliomas are rare tumors of the central nervous system, composed by a mixture of glial and neuronal cells and a fibrous stroma, which affect mainly young patients and arise from the surface of the cerebral hemispheres. We present five cases of infantile desmoplastic ganglioglioma: three were male and two were female. The ages ranged from three months and seven years (mean 2.62 years). The symptoms reflected the growth and topography of the tumors affecting the parietal (n = 3), parieto-occipital (n = 1), occipital (n = 1) lobes. Immunohistochemistry was performed in two cases with similar results to those reported in the literature.
