Desmoplastic low grade astrocytoma: a case report and review of literature

A 7-year-old girl presented with focal seizures without symptoms of raised intracranial tension. Routine histological, immunocytochemical and ultrastructural methods revealed a desmoplastic low grade cerebral astrocytoma. Follow up for 2 years after biopsy did not show recruitment of neurological symptoms or signs. Biphasic tumours containing glial and mesenchymal elements have been described in the literature under various diagnostic headings. As the histologically benign variants of mixed glial and mesenchymal tumours appear to have a good prognosis, identification of these as separate entities seems imperative. With a review of literature we propose a pathological classification of mixed glial and mesenchymal tumours.