Pediatric intracranial hemangioendotheliomas: case report

Neurosurgery. 1997 Feb;40(2):410-4. doi: 10.1097/00006123-199702000-00042.

Abstract

Objective and importance: Intracranial hemangioendotheliomas are rare lesions, especially in the pediatric age group. Recognizing hemangioendotheliomas as a differential in intracranial tumors of vascular origin is important; complete excision results in a cure, and medical therapy for those lesions that are not resectable produces long-term survival.

Clinical presentation: We report two patients, a 7-year-old female patient with a lesion in the right gasserian ganglion and a 3-month-old male patient with a cervicomedullary junction tumor.

Intervention: The 7-year-old underwent a gross total removal with no recurrence. The 3-month-old underwent a partial resection followed by treatment with interferon alpha-2a, with a decrease in the size of the residual tumor. Both patients have been followed for more than 4 years without a recurrence or progression of the tumor.

Conclusion: Hemangioendotheliomas are fairly indolent tumors and may be treated with complete surgical resection, resulting in a cure. In cases in which complete tumor removal is not possible, adjunctive therapy with interferon alpha-2a may control residual tumor growth.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Brain Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Brain Neoplasms / pathology
  • Brain Neoplasms / surgery*
  • Child
  • Cranial Nerve Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Cranial Nerve Neoplasms / pathology
  • Cranial Nerve Neoplasms / surgery
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Endothelium, Vascular / pathology
  • Female
  • Hemangioendothelioma / diagnosis
  • Hemangioendothelioma / pathology
  • Hemangioendothelioma / surgery*
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Spinal Cord Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Spinal Cord Neoplasms / pathology
  • Spinal Cord Neoplasms / surgery*
  • Trigeminal Ganglion / pathology
  • Trigeminal Ganglion / surgery