title: Astroblastoma in childhood: pathological and clinical analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The object was to describe the clinical, radiologic, and pathologic features of astroblastomas in an unselected group of children who were treated in a single institution during an 11-year period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight children with astroblastomas of the brain were examined. Diagnosis was based on cell morphology, vascular attachment of the cell main process, lack of an epithelial-free surface differentiation, and poor intercellular cohesiveness. In addition to sections, tumor smears and electron microscopy were required for demonstrating or confirming such features.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Clinical findings seem to confirm an apparent predilection of astroblastomas for younger children (median age of onset, 5 years) and the existence of two prognostically different types of tumor-well differentiated (low grade) and anaplastic (high grade). Microscopic findings suggest a closer resemblance of tumor cells to astroblasts rather than to "tanycytes" or ependymal cells. It seems, however, that anaplastic astroblasts have a tendency to evolve toward, or be associated with, less differentiated cells, either neuroepithelial or sarcomatous.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Falk Brain Tumor Center, Children's Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60614, USA.
authors.forename: Ramon
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.forename: Aaron J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Reitman
authors.forename: Guillermo A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: de León
authors.forename: Stewart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.forename: Maryanne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marymont
authors.forename: Tadanori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tomita
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001808:Blood Vessels / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods; D018302:Neoplasms, Neuroepithelial / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy; D009836:Oligodendroglia / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods