title: A case report: a noninfantile desmoplastic astrocytoma.
abstract: INTRODUCTION AND CASE DESCRIPTION: Desmoplastic infantile astrocytomas (DIA) are rare intracranial tumors of infancy with distinctive clinical and radiological features. Despite their radiologically aggressive appearance they tend to follow a benign course with favorable prognosis even after subtotal resections. Non-infantile cases are rarely encountered with only four cases reported before. The authors present a non-infantile DIA in a 4 years old female patient and discuss the clinical features, diagnosis, treatment of this rare entity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although accepted as a tumor of infancy, DIA can also be encountered in older patients. Careful diagnosis and differentiation of DIA cases with other tumors, particularly malignant astrocytomas is important since the therapeutic strategies may differ.
authors.affiliation: Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Department of Neurosurgery, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa Onur
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Ulu
authors.forename: Necmettin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tanriöver
authors.forename: Hüseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Biçeroğlu
authors.forename: Buge
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Oz
authors.forename: Bülent
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Canbaz
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D011379:Prognosis