High-grade astroblastoma in a child: Report of one case and review of literature

BACKGROUND: Astroblastoma is a rare glial neoplastic lesion that affects children and adolescents; its histogenesis remains uncertain. It is considered to account for 0.5% of all glial neoplasms, and two different subtypes have been defined based upon histologic characteristics. CASE DESCRIPTION: We present the case of a 9-year-old girl who presented with headache, motor symptoms, and seizures few days before she was admitted to our institution. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed an intra-axial heterogeneous frontoparietal lesion with a striking “bubbly” appearance in MRI T2-weighted sequences and features of intracranial hypertension. Gross total resection of the tumor was achieved and the histopathologic diagnosis revealed high-grade astroblastoma. We reviewed the current published cases of astroblastoma to highlight the demographic, clinical, radiologic, and pathologic data. CONCLUSION: Astroblastomas are a distinct clinicopathologic entity, with well-described radiologic, pathologic, and cytogenetic features. Its recurrence is high and efforts must be made to elucidate the role and usefulness of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in these tumors.