Open AccessA 16‐YEAR‐OLD MALE WITH A CEREBELLAR MASS
Author(s) -
Yeaney Gabrielle A.,
O'Connor Siobhan M.,
Jankowitz Brian T.,
Hamilton Ronald L.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
brain pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.986
H-Index - 132
eISSN - 1750-3639
pISSN - 1015-6305
DOI - 10.1111/j.1750-3639.2008.00242.x
Subject(s) - pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma , pathology , glial fibrillary acidic protein , synaptophysin , vimentin , neurofilament , cerebellar cortex , anatomy , cerebellum , medicine , biology , astrocytoma , glioma , immunohistochemistry , neuroscience , cancer research
A 16-year-old male presented to an emergency room after falling on his head while inebriated. The patient had only a history of recent fatigue and demonstrated no focal neurological deficit. MRI revealed a cystic and solid, enhancing midline cerebellar lesion. A suboccipital craniotomy was performed. Histologically, the mass showed large bizarre cells arranged in sheets with admixed small lymphocytes. The pleomorphic population had ample glassy eosinophilic cytoplasm and intranuclear inclusions. An infiltrating component resembling diffuse astrocytoma could be found in areas. Rosenthal fibers were particularly abundant in the areas of infiltrating glioma. Mitotic activity was very low, and necrosis was absent. Reticulin fibers between individual cells were focally abundant. Glial fibrillary acidic protein and vimentin were strongly expressed in many cells, while synaptophysin and neurofilament protein were not. Ki-67 showed a very low proliferation index. The pathologic diagnosis was pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA) of the cerebellum. PXA is a diagnosis typically regarded as a superficial meningocerebral neoplasm. This case is one of sixteen cerebellar PXAs reported in the literature.