title: Medullomyoblastoma: case report.
abstract: This 7-year-old boy presented with a 2-week history of headache, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, lethargy, and unsteadiness of gait. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a cystic mass within the vermis of the cerebellum. A suboccipital craniectomy was performed to remove a tumor that contained primitive neuroectodermal cells with florid skeletal muscle differentiation. Immunohistochemical studies and electron microscopy confirmed the presence of both a primitive neuroectodermal component and rhabdomyoblastic differentiation, consistent with the diagnosis of medullomyoblastoma. This exceedingly rare tumor of the cerebellar vermis of children is characterized by two components: primitive neuroectodermal tumor cells and skeletal muscle. Although the histogenesis remains uncertain, advances in immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy suggest the origin of this tumor from a multipotential stem cell precursor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA.
authors.forename: Z F
authors.initials: ZF
authors.lastname: Cheema
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Cannon
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leech
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brennan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adesina
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Brumback
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003399:Craniotomy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008527:Medulloblastoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D009379:Neoplasms, Muscle Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D018242:Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive / Q000473:pathology; D012208:Rhabdomyosarcoma / Q000473:pathology