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Prenatal diagnosis of a highly undifferentiated brain tumour—a case report and review of the literature
Author(s) -
Dören Martina,
Tercanli Sevgi,
Gullotta Filippo,
Holzgreve Wolfgang
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
prenatal diagnosis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.956
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1097-0223
pISSN - 0197-3851
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0223(199710)17:10<967::aid-pd165>3.0.co;2-0
Subject(s) - medicine , hydrocephalus , pregnancy , differential diagnosis , pathology , astrocytoma , glioma , fetus , lesion , gestation , prenatal diagnosis , radiology , genetics , cancer research , biology
Intracranial tumours, often presenting with progressive hydrocephalus, are rare congenital diseases accounting for 0·5–1·5 per cent of all cases of brain tumours diagnosed during childhood. The differential diagnosis includes vascular malformations, infarctions, and haemorrhages. Sonographic signs suggestive of glioblastoma, teratoma, and astrocytoma do not establish the histological diagnosis, however. We report a case of an undifferentiated fetal glioma detected at 29 weeks' gestation. The diagnosis of an undifferentiated brain tumour was suspected by sonography because of the lack of normal brain structures in conjunction with a diffuse echogenic central lesion and an external hydrocephalus. Because of the very poor prognosis, we induced labour by intravaginal and intravenous administration of prostaglandin E 2 and achieved the vaginal delivery of a stillborn child whose head circumference corresponded to 38 weeks of pregnancy. Histological and immunochemical features of this undifferentiated congenital glioma (glioblastoma) are presented. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.