Desmoplastic infantile and non-infantile ganglioglioma. Review of the literature

Desmoplastic gangliogliomas (DIG) are rare primary neoplasms that comprise 0.5-1.0% of all intracranial tumors. Clinically, there are two forms of DIG, the infantile and the non-infantile. These tumors invariably arise in the supratentorial region and commonly involve more than one lobe, preferentially the temporal and frontal. On neuroimaging are seen as large hypodense cystic masses with a solid isodense or slightly hyperdense superficial portion. The histologic diagnosis is characterized by the presence of three different cell lines: astrocytic, neuronal, and primitive neuroectodermal marker sites, which were demonstrable. The treatment of choice is radical surgical excision, and if this is done, achieved complete healing of the patient does not require additional treatment. A literature review of DIG was compiled through Medline/Ovid using the keywords desmoplastic infantile ganglioglioma, desmoplastic non-infantile ganglioglioma covering the years 1984-2009. We present a review of a total of 113 cases of infantile (94) and non-infantile gangliogliomas (19) published to date, examining the clinical, radiologic, surgical, and pathological aspects, as well as the outcome. Desmoplastic gangliogliomas represent a rare tumor group with two well-defined age groups, the children and non-children. Desmoplastic infantile gangliogliomas are the most common and occur in children below 5 years of age, and the large majority of them present within the first year of life. Surgery is the treatment of choice and no complementary treatment is needed in cases of complete tumor resection.