[Central neurocytomas of the lateral ventricle. A series of 35 cases with review of the literature]

[Central neurocytomas: clinical and radiopathological correlations: about 12 cases]

Les neurocytomes centraux sont définis comme étant des néoplasmes composés de cellules rondes, uniformes, ayant un profil immunophénotypique neuronal et un index de prolifération bas. Elles représentent 0,5% des tumeurs intracrâniennes. Elles sont habituellement situées à proximité du foramen de Monro et peuvent être à l’origine d’une hydrocéphalie obstructive. Nous rapportons 12 observations de neurocytomes centraux colligés au laboratoire d’anatomie pathologique du CHU Mohammed VI de Marrakech entre janvier 2006 et juin 2015. Le but de ce travail est de rapporter et décrire les aspects radio-pathologiques de ce type histologique rare. Le sex-ratio homme/femme était de 1,4. L’âge moyen au diagnostic était de 22,3 ans. La symptomatologie révélatrice était dominée par l’hypertension intracrânienne chez tous nos patients, associée à une baisse de l’acuité visuelle et une diplopie. Notre matériel d’étude a concerné une biopsie simple dans un cas, une exérèse subtotale dans sept cas et une exérèse totale dans quatre cas. L’étude histopathologique a montré une prolifération tumorale d’architecture endocrine. Les cellules tumorales sont uniformes de petite taille le plus souvent. L’index mitotique était bas. Cette prolifération tumorale s’accompagnait d’un fond fibrillaire et d’un réseau vasculaire développé de type arborescent. L’étude immunohistochimique était identique chez tout les patients. Elle a montré une positivité des cellules tumorales à l’anticorps anti synaptophysine, à chromogranine et NSE. Chez tous nos patients la corrélation radiopathologique était en faveur d’un neurocytome central (Grade II – OMS 2016). A travers cette série, nous rapportons les particularités anatomo-cliniques, radiologiques et évolutives de ces tumeurs rares.

Atypical Central Neurocytoma With Sarcomatous Differentiation

We report a case of an intraventricular tumor with features of atypical central neurocytoma with a sarcomatous component in a 44-year-old woman who presented with headaches and vomiting. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 3.4-cm lobulated enhancing mass in the occipital horn of the left lateral ventricle, and the patient subsequently underwent a left occipital-parietal craniotomy for debulking. The tumor contained 2 cell populations: round cells with perinuclear halos in a fibrillary background, and spindle cells with oval nuclei arranged in interlacing fascicles with focal necrosis. The round cells had diffuse synaptophysin immunopositivity, while the spindle cells were diffusely immunopositive for vimentin and had intercellular reticulin. The mitotic activity (8 mitotic figures per 10 high-power fields) and the high Ki-67 proliferation index (15.0%) were consistent with atypical central neurocytoma with a sarcomatous component. Although different histologic variants have been described, this is the first reported case, to our knowledge, of central neurocytoma with spindle cell sarcomatous features.

Central neurocytoma: long-term outcomes of multimodal treatments and management strategies based on 30 years' experience in a single institute

BACKGROUND

A thorough investigation of the long-term outcomes of central neurocytoma (CN) after different treatments is required to establish optimal management strategies.

OBJECTIVE

We retrospectively reviewed the long-term clinical outcomes of patients with CN according to various treatments and suggest treatment strategies based on 30 years of experience in a single institution.

METHODS

Fifty-eight consecutive patients with CN were treated at our institution between 1982 and 2008. Patient demographics, overall survival, local control rates according to multimodal treatments, and functional outcomes were evaluated. The mean clinical and radiological follow-up periods were 119 months (range, 18-304 months) and 98 months (range, 13-245 months), respectively.

RESULTS

The initial treatment modality was classified into 4 subgroups: operation only (34 patients), operation followed by radiation therapy (7 patients) or radiosurgery (7 patients), and radiosurgery alone (10 patients). The actuarial overall survival was 91% at 5 years and 88% at 10 years. The actuarial overall survival and local tumor control rate did not differ significantly according to the various treatments and the initial extent of the surgical resection. However, functional outcomes, such as the postoperative seizure outcome at the last follow-up, differed according to the surgical approach.

CONCLUSION

The long-term clinical outcomes of CN after multimodal treatment seem to be excellent. Our study suggests that treatment strategies for CN should focus on the patient's quality of life, as well as on tumor control, because of the benign nature of CN.