Unifocal eosinophilic granuloma of the temporal lobe

The clinical features, treatment, and two-year postoperative course of a 14-year-old boy with unifocal eosinophilic granuloma of the temporal lobe are presented. A literature review of unifocal eosinophilic granuloma of the brain revealed 11 additional cases, 9 of which involved the hypothalamus and 1 each the frontal and temporal lobes. Four of the 9 patients with involvement of the hypothalamus developed multifocal disease, whereas none of the 3 who had frontal or temporal lobe involvement developed multifocal lesions. Effective therapy for eosinophilic granuloma in a single resectable site in the brain appears to be total excision. Low-dose radiation has been used to eradicate locally recurrent disease.