Mixed germ cell tumor of the pituitary-hypothalamic region presenting as craniopharyngioma: case report and review of the literature.

Full Abstract

Craniopharyngiomas and germ cell tumors (GCT) may affect the pituitary-hypothalamic region during childhood. Although different in origin, their clinical and radiological features may be similar. In this article we present a 5-year-old girl with clinical and radiological findings (computer tomography calcification) that were initially considered as craniopharyngioma. However clinical outcome, blood and cerebral spinal fluid tumoral markers, and results from anatomopathology and immunohistochemistry disclosed a mixed GCT. This case report highlights that some clinical features and radiological findings of pituitary-hypothalamic tumors may be misdiagnosed as craniopharyngioma mainly when there is a mature teratoma with cartilaginous tissue differentiation.

Author information

Author/s: Chang, Claudia Veiga (CV); Nunes, Vânia dos Santos (Vdos S); Felicio, Andre Carvalho (AC); Zanini, Marco Antonio (MA); Cunha-Neto, Malebranche B C (MB); de Castro, Ana Valeria Barros (AV);

Affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, Botucatu, SP, Brazil. chang.cv(-atsign-)gmail.com

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Case Reports; Journal Article; Review

Journal: Arquivos brasileiros de endocrinologia e metabologia (Arq Bras Endocrinol Metabol), published in Brazil. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Dec; vol 52 (issue 9) : pp 1501-4

Dates: Created 2009/02/06; Completed 2009/10/16;

PMID: 19197460, status: MEDLINE (last retrieved date: 10/16/2009)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.