CNS & pituitary tumors
Gliomas, glioneuronal tumors, and neuronal tumors
Neuronal and mixed neuronal-glial tumors
Extraventricular neurocytoma
Author: Nat Pernick, M.D.
Last author update: 1 January 2006
Last staff update: 1 September 2020
Copyright: 2002-2023, PathologyOutlines.com, Inc.
PubMed Search: Extraventricular neurocytoma [title]
Table of Contents
Definition / general | Radiology description | Prognostic factors | Case reports | Treatment | Microscopic (histologic) description | Positive stains | Electron microscopy description | Differential diagnosisCite this page: Pernick N. Extraventricular neurocytoma. PathologyOutlines.com website. https://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/cnstumorextraventricularneurocytoma.html. Accessed March 30th, 2023.
Definition / general
- Neurocytic tumor within brain parenchyma
- Median age 34 years, range 5 - 76 years
- Involves cerebrum
- References: Am J Surg Pathol 2001;25:1252
Radiology description
- Circumscribed, solitary and 57% cystic
Prognostic factors
- Poor prognostic factors: incomplete excision, atypical features, high cell proliferation rates; also older patient age
Case reports
- 54 year old woman with atypical neurocytoma with oligodendroglia-like spread (Hum Pathol 2004;35:1156)
Treatment
- Total excision prevents recurrence
Microscopic (histologic) description
- Sheets, clusters, ribbons or rosettes of monotonous tumor cells with round and regular vesicular nuclei and distinct nucleoli embedded in matrix of fine neuropil
- Ganglion cells in 66%
- Atypical if necrosis, vascular proliferation and 3+ mitotic figures/10 HPF
Positive stains
- Synaptophysin (strong), GFAP (46%; also is staining of entrapped astrocytes at periphery)
Electron microscopy description
- Neuritic type processes with microtubules, dense core granules
Differential diagnosis
- Ependymoma
- Oligodendroglioma: no ganglion cell differentiation, no salt and pepper chromatin and no neuropil islands; usually more infiltrative, synaptophysin-
