Benign astrocytomas

• More common in kids

• Can usually be cured with extraction and don’t progress to other types

• Types

  • Juvenile Pilocytic Astrocytoma (JPA, fig 30-39)

    • Most common in the cerebellum but can be anywhere

    • One of the most key diagnostic features is the presence of Rosenthal fibers (“big chunky eosinophilic things”); these aren’t specific for JPA, but are never found in CA

    • Classically present as a cystic lesion with a nodule along the wall of the tumor

    • May have long and stringy bipolar cells

  • Pleomorphic xantho astrocytoma (PXA)

    • Usually presents as a temporal mass in a kid with a long history of seizures; once excised, the seizures are gone

    • Might look malignant due to extreme nuclear atypia

    • Can also have Rosenthal bodies

  • Subependymal giant cell astrocytoma (SEGA)

    • Really strong correlation with tuberous sclerosis

    • Most common in kids

    • Tumors look like epithelial cells, not astrocytes or giant cells…diagnosis made by finding a subependymal mass in someone with tuberous sclerosis
      

Category: Pathology Notes