Ganglioglioma

Abstract

Two patients with ganglioglioma are reported. Case 1, a 10-year-old boy, was admitted with a 5-year history of seizures. Plain skull films and tomograms showed a thinned calvarium adjacent to an amorphous calcification in the frontal region. A computerized tomography (CT) scan revealed a calcified mass, and cerebral angiography revealed an avascular lesion in the left superior frontal lobe. Total removal of the tumor was performed successfully, followed by postoperative radiation therapy of 5, 500 rad. The tumor was verified histologically as a ganglioglioma. Clinical follow-up over a 3-year period has been uneventful. Case 2, an 18-year-old young man, was admitted with a 1-month history of headaches and double vision. Neurological examination revealed papilledema, left abducens paralysis and hemiparesis. Urinary vanillylmandelic acid was slightly increased (16.9 mg/day). A CT scan revealed a large contrast-enhanced lesion with a surrounding cyst, and cerebral angiography revealed an avascular space-occupying lesion in the right temporal lobe. After the cystic neoplasm was removed successfully, radiation therapy of 6, 000 rad was given. On histological examination, it was verified as a ganglioglioma. He remained well at follow-up examination 2 years later. The 15 cases of ganglioglioma reported in literature since the introduction of CT, including the present cases, are discussed with regard to the neuroradiological manifestations.