[Central neurocytoma--the need for reassessment of histological diagnoses in tumors in the lateral and third ventricles].

J. Hassoun and co-workers (1982) described two cases presenting intraventricular tumors of nervous origin, coined by them with the term "central neurocytoma" of the ground of electron microscopic data. As shown by the studies of other authors, central neurocytoma represents a separate morphological entity having light- and electron-microscopic and immunohistochemical characteristic of its own. In the recently published WHO classification of brain tumors (1993) central neurocytoma is entered as a tumor presenting new morphological patterns. Central neurocytoma occurs mainly in young persons, develops in the lateral and third ventricle, comparatively well differentiated from surrounding structures, rich in calcifications, disclosing proper relative specificity during CT scanning and MRI study. Light-microscopically this tumor bears resemblance to, and is erroneously diagnosed as oligodendroglioma or ependymoma. Proceeding from retrospective reassessment of two patients with intraventricular tumors and an additional observation, and on the ground of pertinent literature data, the morphological, clinical and nerve imaging characterization of central neurocytoma is outlined--a tumor met with in the daily routine practice, but usually erroneously interpreted.