title: Congenital brain tumors: case series and review of the literature.
abstract: Congenital brain tumors are rare and make up only 2% of all pediatric central nervous system tumors. We present 12 cases of congenital brain tumors of various histopathologies. Most of these tumors were of astrocytic lineage. One patient was diagnosed before birth with prenatal ultrasound, but the rest were diagnosed after birth owing to increased head circumference. Four patients received adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery. None received radiation therapy. Seven out of 12 (58%) are long-term survivors. Four of these survivors (57%) have significant neurocognitive or psychomotor impairment. Although rare, congenital brain tumors are one of the more common tumors presenting in the perinatal period and generally carry a poor prognosis. Novel therapies are needed to improve efficacy and decrease the devastating side effects of treatment in this age group.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. jlasky@mednet.ucla.edu
authors.forename: Joseph L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Lasky
authors.forename: Eun Jun
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Johnston
authors.forename: William H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Yong
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lazareff
authors.forename: Theodore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moore
mesh_terms: D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000151:congenital* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D016896:Treatment Outcome