Rhabdoid tumour is a rare childhood tumour with poor prognosis. We report a 13-month-old Malay girl suffering from this tumour that was located at the left fronto-temporo-parietal region of the brain. Computed tomography showed a large irregular enhancing mass that caused obstructive hydrocephalus. The tumour did not reduce in size after three operations and finally the patient succumbed to the disease four months after diagnosis.
A five-month-old male baby presented with an abdominal mass which was found on computerised tomography (CT) to be involving the left kidney. Nephrectomy and histopathological study showed morphological featues of a malignant rhabdoid tumour. The tumour cells stained strongly for cytokeratin and epithelial membrane antigen and less intensely for vimentin. Electron microscopy revealed concentric whorled arrays of intermediate filaments within the tumour cell cytoplasm. The child was put on post-operative chemotherapy and radiotherapy but developed bilateral lung metastases and died three months after surgery.
Primary central nervous system atypical rhabdoid/teratoid tumour (ATRT) is a rare and highly malignant tumour that tends to occur in infancy and early childhood. The majority of tumours (approximately two-third) arise in the posterior fossa. The optimal treatment for ATRT remains unclear. Options of treatment include surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Each of their role is still not clearly defined until now. The prognosis of the disease is generally unfavourable. This is a case report of ATRT in an atypical site in a 9-year-old girl.
Primary central nervous system (CNS) atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumours (ATRT) are highly malignant neoplasms which usually present in infancy or early childhood. Although ATRT may arise anywhere within the CNS, the majority (approximately two-thirds) arise in the cerebellum or posterior fossa, and the remainder in the cerebrum. We described the imaging characteristics of CNS ATRT in the posterior cranial fossa of a 14-month-old boy.
Strongyloidiasis is an infection caused by the intestinal nematode Strongyloides stercoralis. Infected healthy individuals are usually asymptomatic, however it is potentially fatal in immunocompromised hosts due to its capacity to cause an overwhelming hyperinfection. Strongyloidiasis could be missed during routine screening because of low and intermittent larval output in stool and variable manifestations of the symptoms. We present two cases of strongyloidiasis occurring in children with solid organ malignancies suspected to have the infection based on their clinical conditions and treatment history for cancer. Both patients were diagnosed by molecular and serological tests and were successfully treated. Thus, strongyloidiasis in patients undergoing intensive treatment for malignancies should be suspected, properly investigated and treated accordingly.
Following craniotomy for an atypical rhabdoid tumour of the posterior cranial fossa, a fourteen-month-old boy developed a ventriculitis with methicillin resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) which is associated with the use of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Treatment with intravenous vancomycin resulted in a severe allergic skin reaction. Substitution with intravenous teicoplanin resulted in negative blood culture and MRSE ventriculitis was successfully eradicated with concomitant use of intraventricular teicoplanin. No signs of recurrent infection or adverse events occurred. Intraventricular teicoplanin is safe and effective for the treatment of staphylococcal neurosurgical shunt infections.
Brain herniation is generally thought to be unlikely to occur in newborns due to the presence of the patent fontanelles and cranial sutures. A review of the literature published from 1993 to 2008 via MEDLINE search revealed no reports on neonatal brain herniation from intracranial tumour. We report a preterm Malay male infant born via elective Caesarean section for antenatally diagnosed intracerebral tumour, which subsequently developed herniation. Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging showed features that were compatible with a large complex intracranial tumour causing mass effect and gross hydrocephalus. Tumour excision was scheduled when the infant was two weeks old. Unfortunately, on the morning of the surgery, he developed signs of brain herniation and had profuse tumour haemorrhage during the attempted excision. Histopathological examination revealed an embryonal tumour, possibly an atypical rhabdoid/teratoid tumour. This case illustrates that intracranial tumours in newborns can herniate and should therefore be closely monitored.