Anaplastic astrocytoma and anaplastic oligodendroglioma occurring 6 years after subtotal resection of a central neurocytoma. Case report.

The authors present the case of a 51-year-old man who presented with an anaplastic astrocytoma and anaplastic oligodendroglioma that developed 6 years after subtotal resection of a central neurocytoma in his right lateral ventricle. He had received neither radiation therapy nor chemotherapy after the original resection. On readmission, neuroimaging revealed a mass in the right parietal lobe and a diffuse lesion in the right temporal lobe, insula, and corona radiata. Because both lesions extended to the right lateral ventricle wall, they were regarded as recurrent rather than metachronous tumors. Histological examination revealed anaplastic oligodendroglioma in the parietal lobe and anaplastic astrocytoma in the insula. One year later, the anaplastic astrocytoma was found to have transformed into a glioblastoma multiforme. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis and immunohistochemical examinations detected deletions of the lp36 and 19q13 loci, and nuclear accumulation of TP53 protein in the anaplastic oligodendroglioma but not in the glioblastoma multiforme. These findings suggest that central neurocytoma or progenitor cells have the potential for oligodendrocytic and astrocytic transformation with different genetic aberrations.