PILOCYTIC ASTROCYTOMA PRESENTING AS AN EXTRAAXIAL TUMOR IN THE CEREBELLOPONTINE ANGLE - CASE-REPORT

GLIAL TUMORS IN the cerebellopontine angle (CPA) are rare. Four histol ogically distinct types of glial tumors of the CPA have been described in the literature as ependymoma, medulloblastoma, mixed glial tumor, and fibrillary astrocytoma. This case report describes a pilocytic ast rocytoma of the CPA, A 58-year-old man with a hearing loss had an extr a-axial tumor in the left CPA that extended into the internal auditory canal. The characteristics of the tumor on magnetic resonance imaging scans differed from those of typical CPA tumors. It adhered avidly to the cochlear and vestibular nerves, which had to be sacrificed for gr oss total resection. Microscopic examination showed the typical featur es of an adult-type pilocytic astrocytoma.