Primary Brain Tumors Flashcards
Glioblastoma multiforme (grade IV astrocytoma)?
Most common primary brain tumor
• Highly malignant
• Usually lethal in 8–12 months
• Can cross the midline via the corpus callosum
(“butterfly glioma”)
• Areas of necrosis surrounded by rows of
neoplastic cells (pseudopalisading necrosis)
What are the features of Astrocytoma (pilocytic)?
• Benign tumor of children and young adults • Usually in posterior fossa in children • Rosenthal fibers • Immunostaining with GFAP
What are the features of Oligodendroglioma?
- Slow growing
- Long survival (average 5–10 years)
- “Fried-egg” appearance—perinuclear halo
What are the features of Ependymoma?
• Ependymal origin
• Can arise in IV ventricle and lead to
hydrocephalus
• Rosettes and pseudorosettes
What are the features of Medulloblastoma?
• Highly malignant cerebellar tumor
• A type of primitive neuroectodermal
tumor (PNET)
• Blue, small, round cells with pseudorosettes
What are the features of Meningioma?
• Second most common primary brain tumor • Dural convexities; parasagittal region • Attaches to the dura, compresses underlying brain without invasion • Microscopic—psammoma bodies
What are the features of Schwannoma?
- Third most common primary brain tumor
- Most frequent location: CN VIII at cerebellopontine angle
- Hearing loss, tinnitus, CN V + VII signs
- Good prognosis after surgical resection
- Antoni A (hypercellular) and B (hypocellular) areas
- Bilateral acoustic schwannomas— pathognomonic for neurofibromatosis type 2
What are the features of Retinoblastoma?
- Sporadic—unilateral
- Familial—bilateral; associated with osteosarcoma
- Small, round, blue cells; may have rosettes
What are the features of Craniopharyngioma?
• Derived from oral epithelium (remnants of Rathke pouch) • Usually children and young adults • Often calcified • Symptoms due to encroachment on pituitary stalk or optic chiasm • Benign but may recur • Histology resembles adamantinoma (most common tumor of tooth)
