Brain damage in children in course of neoplastic diseases

The aim of our neuropathologic study was to evaluate the changes in the CNS of children occurring in course of neoplastic diseases. First of all we looked for those which correspond to paraneoplastic syndromes and others which could be considered as secondary toxic lesions after prolonged chemotherapy. Twenty seven brains of children aged 0-11 years, 20 without and 7 with metastatic or primary neoplastic changes within CNS were examined. In all cases cerebellopathy which morphologically corresponded to paraneoplastic changes was found. The generalized damage of cerebral cortex less severe of the brain stem, and in several cases white matter changes were seen. They seem to be dependent on the prolonged treatment using cytostatic drugs.