Cerebral astroblastoma: A case report and review of literature

Astroblastomas are uncommon neuroepithelial tumors of uncertain origin. These occur predominantly in the cerebral hemisphere of young adults and children. They form only 0.45-2.8% of all neuroglial tumors. They can be easily misdiagnosed as they are rarely encountered in clinical practice and share common radiological and histopathologic appearance with other glial neoplasms. A 12-year-old female presented to us with progressive headache and diplopia. Her neurological examination showed right 6(th) nerve paresis with papilledema. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed well-demarcated, peripherally enhancing solid cystic mass of 6 cm in right parietal lobe with mass effect. She underwent gross total resection of the lesion through right parietal craniotomy. The histopathologic diagnosis was suggestive of low-grade astroblastoma. The patient had no evidence of recurrence of tumor without adjuvant radiotherapy during the last 14 months of follow-up. Supratentorial astroblastomas are very rare tumors. Complete excision without radiotherapy is sufficient in low-grade variants.