MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION IN A GANGLIOGLIOMA WITH ANAPLASTIC NEURONAL AND ASTROCYTIC COMPONENTS - REPORT OF A CASE WITH FLOW CYTOMETRIC AND CYTOGENETIC ANALYSIS

Background. Malignant transformation of a ganglioglioma is rare and is generally restricted to the glial component. The authors described a unique case in which neuronal and glial elements exhibited anaplasia i n a ganglioglioma. A subtotal resection of a large left temporal tumor extending into the diencephalon and brain stem in a 10-year-old boy r evealed a ganglioglioma with no atypical features. The histologic find ings were unchanged at further resections 4 and 12 months later. Radio therapy was instituted with 5500 cGy in 30 fractions 21 months after i nitial resection. The patient returned 3 years later with a massive mi dline tumor recurrence. Methods. The tumor was studied by conventional histologic methods, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometric methods, tr ansmission electron microscopy, immune electron microscopy, and cytoge netic analysis.