Cerebellar gliomas in infants: specificity, pathology, and outcome

Cerebellar gliomas (CGs) in children are generally associated with a favora ble outcome; however, data regarding these tumors in very young children ar e scarce. We report on our experience with CGs in children less than 3 year s old at surgery, compared with a second group older than 3 years. From 199 1 to 1996, we operated on 7 children with CGs in the first group and 43 in the second. Psychomotor delay and regression were the first symptoms in 3 c ases, and 3 had macrocrania. The tumor was totally removed in all cases. On e child died intraoperatively of air embolism and subdural bleeding. Three had malignant tumors (grade 3 or 4). There was no operative mortality or ma lignancy in the second group of patients. With a mean follow-up of 33 month s, all survivors in the first group are disease-free, with no or minimal sy mptoms, and attend normal schools. The clinical, surgical, and pathological features suggest that children under 3 years of age represent a specific s ubgroup of CGs.