Pilomyxoid astrocytoma in a patient presenting with fatal hemorrhage. Case report

Abstract

The authors report on a rare case of pilomyxoid astrocytoma in a patient presenting with fatal hemorrhage. This 5-year-old boy presented to the outpatient clinic with headache and vomiting. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging studies revealed a mass lesion with partial hemorrhage in the suprasellar region extending into the third ventricle. Partial resection via a transcallosal approach was performed. Because the pathological diagnosis was pilomyxoid astrocytoma, chemotherapy was administered. However, 4 months after the first operation, during chemotherapy, the boy presented with massive intratumoral and intraventricular hemorrhage with hydrocephalus. Although emergent external ventricular drainage was performed, the patient died. In this report, the authors review the literature and discuss the clinical features and treatment of pilomyxoid astrocytoma.