Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma with a gangliomatous component: an immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study

We report a case of a 24-year-old woman with left temporal pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA) with atypical neuronal cells. Many neoplastic cells, otherwise typical of PXA, expressed glial fibrillary acidic protein, while neuronal cells with marked atypia were immunopositive for synaptophysin and neurofilament protein. This report supports a notion that PXA, like other astrocytic tumors, may have its gangliogliomatous counterpart.