Tanabe M, Mizushima M, Anno Y, Kondou S, Dejima S, Hirao D J, Kamitani H, Watanabe T, Hori T
Division of Neurosurgery, Institute of Neurological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan.
Surg Neurol. 1997 Jan;47(1):28-31. doi: 10.1016/s0090-3019(96)00152-8.
Down's syndrome's association with malignancies such as leukemia is well known, but its association with brain tumor appears to be rare. We reviewed such rare cases of Down's syndrome and intracranial germ-cell tumor.
A 10-year-old boy with Down's syndrome and intracranial germinoma located in the left basal ganglia is reported. The patient presented with right hemiparesis and was treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy with cisplatin and etoposide, and irradiation.
We speculate that the percentage of germ-cell tumors is high among Down syndrome patients with brain tumors and that the most common site is the basal ganglia.