Krzysztof Zakrzewski(1), Lech Polis(1), Pawel P. Liberski(2,3), Janusz Alwasiak(4)

1)Clinical Department of Neurosurgery, Polish Mother Memorial Hospital, 2)Laboratory of Neuropathology and Electron Microscopy, Laboratories of Tumor Biology, Department of Oncology, University Medical School, 3)Laboratory of Electron Microscopy, Department of Pathomorphology, Polish Mother Memorial Hospital, 4)Department of Cancer Pathology, Department of Oncology, University Medical School, Lodz

Abstract

Brain tumors are the most frequent solid neoplasms of childhood. We present here a series of 200 consecutive cases of neuropathologically verified brain tumors in children under 18, operated on between 1990 - 1996 at the Polish Mother Memorial Hospital in Lodz. The respective diagnoses were established on the basis of light microscopy, ultrastructure and immunohistochemistry. The criteria of the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of central nervous system (CNS) tumors were used in all but one (superficial desmoplastic cerebral astrocytoma of infancy) case. The location of tumors, age and sex of children and tumors’ histology in our material were compared with those of previously published series of pediatric brain tumors.

Address for correspondence and reprint requests to:

Prof. P. P. Liberski, M. D., Laboratory of Electron Microscopy and Neuropathology, Department of Oncology, Paderewskiego 4, 93-509 Lodz.