Brain Tumors with early childhood onset: Three Cases Reports

Abstract

Background and aims: Brain Tumors with early childhood onset are mostly congenital (CBTs). They are most often defined as tumors presenting within 60 days after birth, are extremely rare and account for only 0.5 to 4% of all pediatric brain tumors. Methods: A 15-year retrospective study (2001-2015). Results: We identified three cases of CBT in two male and one female infant. CBT was revealed by refractory status epilepticus at day one of life for the first newborn, delayed walking for the second (at 18 months) and bulging fontanels at two months for the third. Histological diagnoses were pilocytic astrocytoma grade I, ependymoma grade II, and infantile desmoplastic astrocytoma grade I respectively. Conclusion: This study sheds light on the difficulty of prenatal diagnosis, neonatal diagnostic, histological, prognostic, and therapeutic characteristics of CBTs.