title: Congenital cerebral primitive neuroectodermal tumor with astrocytic differentiation and extracranial metastases.
abstract: A cerebral primitive neuroectodermal tumor with astrocytic differentiation and extracranial metastases in a 28-day-old infant is reported. The infant presented with a progressively enlarged head, cutaneous lesions in the neck, and enlarged cervical lymph nodes. A computed tomography brain scan demonstrated a giant thalamic tumor with subarachnoid dissemination and hydrocephalus. Biopsy material from the cervical lesions showed a picture of glioma with anaplastic astrocytes. The patient received a ventriculoperitoneal shunt operation and palliative chemotherapy, but died at 3 months of age. Autopsy was performed. Histological studies, which included immunohistochemical stains of the thalamic tumor, showed small, round, primitive, neoplastic cells with focal astrocytic differentiation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: I T
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: T T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D001253:Astrocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000151:congenital / Q000473:pathology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D009373:Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal / Q000151:congenital / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary*