Multicentric astrocytomas of the optic chiasm, brain stem and spinal cord

Abstract

Autopsy was performed on a 52-year-old man with a 20-year history of neurological symptoms. At autopsy, both a brain stem tumor and a spinal cord tumor were found. These showed the features of pilocytic astrocytoma histologically. A pilocytic astrocytoma was also found in the optic chiasm upon microscopical examination. These three tumors were thought to be multicentric astrocytomas, because there was no continuity among them and no evidence of dissemination or metastasis by any pathway. From a review of the literature, the present case is considered to be an exceedingly rare one because of the multicentric sites of occurrence.