Primary anaplastic pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma with widespread neuroaxis dissemination at diagnosis--a pediatric case report and review of the literature

J Neurooncol. 2009 Sep;94(3):431-7. doi: 10.1007/s11060-009-9876-6. Epub 2009 Mar 27.

Abstract

We report a 5 year-old boy with primary anaplastic pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA) with whole neuroaxis dissemination at diagnosis who experienced the sudden onset of generalized convulsion. Head- and spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed widespread gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced lesions extending to the bilateral frontal- and medial temporal lobes and the spinal cord. Subsequent MRI study demonstrated that the lesion size increased without any neurological deterioration. Under a histopathologic diagnosis of anaplastic PXA he underwent adjuvant chemotherapy consisting of 12 cycles of carboplatin and vincristine. The patient is alive without any neurological deficits; follow-up MRI showed that the lesions remained stable during 18 months of chemotherapy. We report a very rare pediatric case of primary anaplastic PXA with dissemination involving the entire neuroaxis at the time of diagnosis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Astrocytoma / diagnosis*
  • Astrocytoma / drug therapy
  • Brain Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Brain Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Child, Preschool
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Head / diagnostic imaging
  • Head / pathology
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods*
  • Male
  • Neoplasms, Complex and Mixed / diagnosis*
  • Neoplasms, Complex and Mixed / drug therapy
  • Spinal Cord / diagnostic imaging
  • Spinal Cord / pathology
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed / methods