Unusual early recurrence of a cerebellar pilocytic astrocytoma following complete surgical resection. Case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Pilocytic cerebellar astrocytomas are usually benign tumors with generally an excellent prognosis following complete surgical resection. The goal of surgery is total resection to minimize the risk of recurrence. In this case report, a 5-year old boy who had undergone total resection of a posterior fossa pilocytic cerebellar astrocytoma (as documented by a contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan within 24 hours following surgery), developed a massive recurrence of the tumor within four months. Both the initial histology and the sections examined after the second resection revealed features typical for a pilocytic astrocytoma with no suspicion of malignancy. This case is unusual in that it is contrary to other reports suggesting that CT-documented complete surgical resection of pilocytic astrocytomas is without recurrence, and suggests the need for vigilant radiographic and clinical follow-up of these patients even if apparent complete resection of the tumor has been achieved.