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Unusual Presentation of Brain Tumor in a Child: A Case Report

Received: 20 March 2023     Accepted: 17 April 2023     Published: 27 April 2023
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Abstract

The most popular type of neurological tumor in childhood is medulloblastoma, which is the most malignant neoplasm of the posterior fossa and cerebellum. Central nervous system neoplasms can cause symptoms and signs due to local invasion, compression of normal structures, and increased intracranial pressure by either a mass effect or obstruction of cerebrospinal fluid flow, resulting in hydrocephalus. Usually, headache is the most common symptom of central nervous system tumors, and the median duration between symptoms beginning and diagnosis of brain tumors in children ranges from 2.5 to 3.5 months. Furthermore, several predisposing factors for brain tumors have been identified such as Epstein–Barr virus infection, exposure to ionizing radiation, and inherited diseases. Recently, the advances in diagnosis and treatment have improved the survival of many children with neurological neoplasms. However, this therapy is associated with long-term complications, and its prognosis remains poor. We present the case of a 4-year-old girl with adequate neuropsychomotor development who presented to the pediatric emergency center with a 14-day history of headache, which was prominent in the morning, neck, back, and bilateral leg pain two days prior to presentation. Brain and Spine Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a cerebellar mass lesion in the posterior fossa. The patient underwent surgery, followed by histopathological and immunohistochemical staining. This case is considered rare and distinctive because the symptoms included only headache for two weeks, no impaired vision, no vomiting, no mental disorders, no abnormal gait, and no ataxia or body imbalance. We report this case to focus on the features of the manifestation and hence increase the chances of timely diagnosis in the future. Consequently, the probability of central nervous system tumors should always be considered in children with headache, and they must be under regular follow-up for early diagnosis and treatment.

Published in American Journal of Pediatrics (Volume 9, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.12
Page(s) 63-67
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Childhood Tumor, Brain Tumor, Medulloblastoma, Malignancy in Children, Pediatric Cancer

References
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[4] Patel S, Bhatnagar A, Wear C, et al. Are pediatric brain tumors on the rise in the USA? Significant incidence and survival findings from the SEER database analysis. Childs Nerv Syst 2014; 30: 147-54.
[5] Malbari F, Lindsay H. Genetics of common pediatric brain tumors. Pediatr Neurol 2020; 104: 3-12.
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[8] Taylor MD, Northcott PA, Korshunov A, et al. Molecular subgroups of medulloblastoma: the current consensus. Acta Neuropathol 2012; 123: 465-72.
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Mahmoud Alhandi Omar Helal, Mohammed Al-Amri, Mahmoud Alrifaai, Shaikha Al-Thani, Bashir Youssef, et al. (2023). Unusual Presentation of Brain Tumor in a Child: A Case Report. American Journal of Pediatrics, 9(2), 63-67. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.12

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    ACS Style

    Mahmoud Alhandi Omar Helal; Mohammed Al-Amri; Mahmoud Alrifaai; Shaikha Al-Thani; Bashir Youssef, et al. Unusual Presentation of Brain Tumor in a Child: A Case Report. Am. J. Pediatr. 2023, 9(2), 63-67. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.12

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    AMA Style

    Mahmoud Alhandi Omar Helal, Mohammed Al-Amri, Mahmoud Alrifaai, Shaikha Al-Thani, Bashir Youssef, et al. Unusual Presentation of Brain Tumor in a Child: A Case Report. Am J Pediatr. 2023;9(2):63-67. doi: 10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.12,
      author = {Mahmoud Alhandi Omar Helal and Mohammed Al-Amri and Mahmoud Alrifaai and Shaikha Al-Thani and Bashir Youssef and Lujain Loay and Abdulrahman Siddig and Hanan Eldesouky Eltomy},
      title = {Unusual Presentation of Brain Tumor in a Child: A Case Report},
      journal = {American Journal of Pediatrics},
      volume = {9},
      number = {2},
      pages = {63-67},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajp.20230902.12},
      abstract = {The most popular type of neurological tumor in childhood is medulloblastoma, which is the most malignant neoplasm of the posterior fossa and cerebellum. Central nervous system neoplasms can cause symptoms and signs due to local invasion, compression of normal structures, and increased intracranial pressure by either a mass effect or obstruction of cerebrospinal fluid flow, resulting in hydrocephalus. Usually, headache is the most common symptom of central nervous system tumors, and the median duration between symptoms beginning and diagnosis of brain tumors in children ranges from 2.5 to 3.5 months. Furthermore, several predisposing factors for brain tumors have been identified such as Epstein–Barr virus infection, exposure to ionizing radiation, and inherited diseases. Recently, the advances in diagnosis and treatment have improved the survival of many children with neurological neoplasms. However, this therapy is associated with long-term complications, and its prognosis remains poor. We present the case of a 4-year-old girl with adequate neuropsychomotor development who presented to the pediatric emergency center with a 14-day history of headache, which was prominent in the morning, neck, back, and bilateral leg pain two days prior to presentation. Brain and Spine Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a cerebellar mass lesion in the posterior fossa. The patient underwent surgery, followed by histopathological and immunohistochemical staining. This case is considered rare and distinctive because the symptoms included only headache for two weeks, no impaired vision, no vomiting, no mental disorders, no abnormal gait, and no ataxia or body imbalance. We report this case to focus on the features of the manifestation and hence increase the chances of timely diagnosis in the future. Consequently, the probability of central nervous system tumors should always be considered in children with headache, and they must be under regular follow-up for early diagnosis and treatment.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Unusual Presentation of Brain Tumor in a Child: A Case Report
    AU  - Mahmoud Alhandi Omar Helal
    AU  - Mohammed Al-Amri
    AU  - Mahmoud Alrifaai
    AU  - Shaikha Al-Thani
    AU  - Bashir Youssef
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    AU  - Abdulrahman Siddig
    AU  - Hanan Eldesouky Eltomy
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.12
    T2  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    JF  - American Journal of Pediatrics
    JO  - American Journal of Pediatrics
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    EP  - 67
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2472-0909
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajp.20230902.12
    AB  - The most popular type of neurological tumor in childhood is medulloblastoma, which is the most malignant neoplasm of the posterior fossa and cerebellum. Central nervous system neoplasms can cause symptoms and signs due to local invasion, compression of normal structures, and increased intracranial pressure by either a mass effect or obstruction of cerebrospinal fluid flow, resulting in hydrocephalus. Usually, headache is the most common symptom of central nervous system tumors, and the median duration between symptoms beginning and diagnosis of brain tumors in children ranges from 2.5 to 3.5 months. Furthermore, several predisposing factors for brain tumors have been identified such as Epstein–Barr virus infection, exposure to ionizing radiation, and inherited diseases. Recently, the advances in diagnosis and treatment have improved the survival of many children with neurological neoplasms. However, this therapy is associated with long-term complications, and its prognosis remains poor. We present the case of a 4-year-old girl with adequate neuropsychomotor development who presented to the pediatric emergency center with a 14-day history of headache, which was prominent in the morning, neck, back, and bilateral leg pain two days prior to presentation. Brain and Spine Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a cerebellar mass lesion in the posterior fossa. The patient underwent surgery, followed by histopathological and immunohistochemical staining. This case is considered rare and distinctive because the symptoms included only headache for two weeks, no impaired vision, no vomiting, no mental disorders, no abnormal gait, and no ataxia or body imbalance. We report this case to focus on the features of the manifestation and hence increase the chances of timely diagnosis in the future. Consequently, the probability of central nervous system tumors should always be considered in children with headache, and they must be under regular follow-up for early diagnosis and treatment.
    VL  - 9
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    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

  • Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

  • Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

  • Faculty of Medicine, Weill Cornell University, Doha, Qatar

  • Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

  • Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

  • Pediatric Department, Sidra Hospital, Doha, Qatar

  • Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar

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