Congenital Oligodendroglioma with Initial Manifestation of Jaundice

Abstract

Neonatal brain tumor is a rare clinical entity. The initial presentation in affected newborn infants is often subtle, nonspecific, and rarely includes focal neurologic signs. We report a 2-day-old male infant with congenital oligodendroglioma with initial manifestations of hyperbilirubinemia. Phototherapy was started immediately after admission. Because of a tense anterior fontanel and irritable crying, head ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging were performed and revealed a heterogenous brain tumor in the left temporoparietal lobe. Craniotomy and tumor evacuation was performed, and WHO grade III anaplastic oligodendroglioma was confirmed by the pathologic studies. The patient was discharged 3 weeks later , and outpatient follow -up examination revealed a normally developed infant at 6 months of age. The cause of jaundice was thought to be secondary to tumor hemorrhage, which was not infrequent in neonatal brain tumor. (C) 2002 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.