Summary
Three cases of subependymoma are described. In two of them, the tumour had produced clinical symptoms, in one it was found incidentally at autopsy. The tumours were located in the right lateral ventricle, in the fourth ventricle and in the cervical spinal cord. Operation was performed in the latter case, this being the first case of successfully operated subependymoma of spinal cord localization described in the literature. The lateral ventricular and the spinal tumours were subjected to electron microscopic study. Light and electron microscopic investigations showed that the tumour cells were of fibrillar astrocytic character, yet owing to other morphological features the tumours could not be absolutely identified with fibrillary astrocytomas.
P.S. while in press: Subependymoma will be an entity of the forthcoming “Histological Classification of Tumours of the Central Nervous System” of the World Health Organization as “subependymal glomerate astrocytoma”.
Zusammenfassung
Es werden 3 Fälle von Subependymom beschrieben, in 2 von diesen hat der Tumor eine klinische Symptomatologie hervorgerufen, der 3. war ein Zufallsbefund bei der Autopsie. Die Tumoren lagen im rechten Seitenventrikel, im 4. Ventrikel und im Halsmark. Im letzterwähnten Falle wurde eine Operation durchgeführt und dies ist der erste erfolgreich operierte Fall eines Subependymoms des Rückenmarks, der in der Literatur beschrieben wird. Bei dem Tumor im Ventrikel und bei dem spinalen Tumor konnten elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchungen durchgeführt werden. Licht- und elek-tronenoptische Untersuchungen zeigten, daß die Tumorzellen einen fibrillären Charakter wie bei Astrozyten hatten, doch konnte aufgrund andersartiger morphologischer Strukturen der Tumor nicht absolut mit dem fibrillären Astrocytom gleichgesetzt werden.
P. S. während der Drucklegung: Das Subependymom ist in der neuen Nomenklatur der Weltgesundheitsorganisation vorgesehen als „subependymäres glomeruläres Astrozytom“.
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Slowik, F., Pásztor, E. & Szöllösi, B. Subependymal gliomas. Neurosurg. Rev. 2, 79–86 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01649832
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01649832
Key words
- Subependymoma
- Intraventricular tumours
- Cervical intramedullary tumour
- Light and electron microscopic investigations
- Subependymal cell plate
- Astrocytoma
- subependymal glomerate astrocytoma