1992 Volume 32 Issue 12 Pages 911-914
A 44-year-old male with Pierre Robin syndrome and funnel chest was diagnosed with a tumor of the cerebellar vermis and spontaneous pneumothorax. He received tube thoracostomy for pneumothorax and ventriculoperitoneal shunt for hydrocephalus, followed by radiological examination, subtotal removal of the tumor, pneumonorrhaphy, and chemoradiotherapy. Light microscopy of the tumor sample revealed marked pleomorphism of the tumor cells and numerous giant cells, without mitotic figures. Microcystic changes due to vasogenic edema were also evident throughout the tumor. Electron microscopy showed more than 50% of all tumor cells to be oncocytes, with numerous mitochondria in the cytoplasm. The tumor was diagnosed as anaplastic astrocytoma of an oncocytic type.