[Ganglioneuroblastoma of the anterior skull base with a long-term follow-up. Case report]

A case of primary cerebral ganglioneuroblastoma of the anterior skull base was reported. The patient, a 19-year-old male, suffered from visual disturbance and fatigability. Obesity, hypogonadism, disturbance of visual acuity, visual field defect, and bilateral choked discs were revealed and moderate panhypopituitarism was found. Plain craniograms showed signs of increased intracranial pressure and demineralization of the anterior skull base. Left carotid angiograms showed a left to right displacement of the anterior cerebral artery and an oval vascular stain in the left frontal region. EEG revealed a polyphasic slow wave focus in the left frontal region. Partial removal of the tumor was performed and Linac therapy with a tumor dose of 4, 000 rads was given. The histological dignosis was ganglioneuroblastoma, which showed small, uniform, spherical cells with abundant nuclear chromatin and large cells with some processes and Nissl granules. At follow-up studies 3, 5, and 6 years after the operation, only a slight decrease of visual acuity was noted and no enlargement of the tumor was found in CT scans or cerebral angiograms. A histological maturation of this tumor may have occurred.