Intrauterine diagnosis and pathology of fetal choroid plexus carcinoma--a case study

This is a case report of a 39-year-old pregnant woman whose fetus was found to have a large hydrocephalus on routine prenatal ultrasound at the 29th gestational week. A 56 mm × 73 mm mass was detected in the fetal brain arising from the brainstem and invading the third cerebral ventricle. On the subsequent fetal cranial MRI, T2-weighted image the tumor measured 55 mm × 50 mm × 48 mm and had a non-homogeneous consistency and irregular contours. Elective cesarean section was performed during gestational week 32, delivering a male fetus with a cranial circumference of 46 cm (normal circumference, 30 cm) and a birth weight of 2920 g. The infant expired 4h following delivery. Autopsy revealed a carcinoma of the choroid plexus. Our case, like others, suggests that MRI is more accurate than prenatal ultrasound in prenatal brain tumor diagnosis. More precise morphological detail is provided by MRI, which improves surgical planning and survival.