PEDIATRICS Vol. 18 No. 1 July 1956, pp. 150-158
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CEREBELLAR ASTROCYTOMA IN CHILDHOOD

Donald D. Matson M.D.1

1 Neurosurgical Service to the Children's Medical Center and Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Boston, and Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School

Thirty-four children with cerebellar astrocytoma have been treated at Children's Medical Center in Boston during the last 7 years. There was no operative mortality. The case mortality to date is 5.8 per cent.

Thirty-two of the thirty-four children are alive and free of increased intracranial pressure. Six have moderate and 2 have severe [See FIG. 8. in Source Pdf] neurological disturbance in the form of residual ataxia and cranial nerve disturbances. The other 24 patients are leading normal lives, and show no abnormality on neurological examination.

The importance and desirability of early recognition and complete one-stage surgical removal of cerebellar astrocytomas, which represent 20 per cent of all intracranial tumors of childhood, is emphasized by the high rate of cure which can be achieved.

It is estimated that the rate of cure for this intracranial tumor should be about 90 per cent. Significant neurological disturbance should probably not persist in more than 15 to 20 per cent of these patients.