GANGLIOMA ASSOCIATED WITH FOCAL EPILEPSY

Abstract

Although rare, gangliomas represent the most common tumor entity in young patients suffering from focal epilepsy [1,2]. The current World Health Organization (WHO) classi- fication defines ganglioglioma (GG) as a neoplasm com- posed of neural (ganglion cells) and glial elements, with both components being neoplastic [3].Ganglioglioma accounts for 0.4% to 9% of primary brain tumors and has been described in all parts of the central nervous system, but most commonly comes to clinical attention when present in the cerebral hemispheres, particularly in the temporal lobe [4,5]. We present a 13-year-old boy with repetitive focal seizures. The implemented EEG revealed right focus ofspike-wave complexes. Contrast-enhancedmagnetic resonance showed findings of TU lesion in the right middle temporal lobe. The patient underwent tumor excision. Patohistological diagnosis of the resected tu- mor was ganglioglioma. Postoperatively, the patient wasseizure-free, but the control EEG wasthe same asthe first EEG. In patients with ganglioglioma the appropriate treatment strategy involves not only the complete surgical extir- pation of the tumor, but also relatively early surgical intervention, because such an approach provides maxi- mum chance of an epilepsy cure [6].