INTRAVENTRICULAR AND LEPTOMENINGEAL DISSEMINATION OF A PILOCYTIC CEREBELLAR ASTROCYTOMA IN A CHILD WITH A VENTRICULOPERITONEAL SHUNT - CASE-REPORT

Dissemination of a pilocytic cerebellar astrocytoma is a very rare occ urrence. So far only eight cases have been reported in the literature and in only one of these cases had the tumour spread into the ventricl es. We report a case of a child who presented with communicating hydro cephalus and a small cerebellar lesion. The patient was initially near ed by a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt and the lesion was followed-up . Two years later, intraventricular and leptomeningeal dissemination o f the tumour which proved to be a pilocytic astrocytoma was documented . The role of the VP shunt in diverting metastasizing tumour cells int o the ventricles is discussed.