TITLE:
Solitary Retinal Astrocytoma: A Case Series
AUTHORS:
Takafumi Fuchino, Tomayoshi Hayashi, Kiyoshi Suzuma, Asuka Taneoka, Kuniko Abe, Naoe Kinoshita, Haruna Yasui, Takashi Kitaoka, Junya Fukuoka
KEYWORDS:
Retina; Astrocytoma; Pathology
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pathology,
Vol.3 No.2,
April
19,
2013
ABSTRACT: Background: Astrocytic tumors of the retina are rare. We
report and discuss the clinical features of two cases of retinal astrocytoma
along with presenting a current literature review. Case Presentation: Case 1 was a 46-year-old Japanese female who
became aware of her decreased visual acuity. A fundus photograph indicated the
presence of a 5 mm hemispherical
yellow-white tumor, retinal edema and hard exudate around the tumor. In case 2,
a 36-year-old Japanese female became aware of her myodesopsia, and presented
with a retinal tumor and vitreous hemorrhage in her right eye. Since the tumors
occurred in the peripheral retina in both cases, endoresections were performed.
Histological examination showed that the tumors were composed of spindle-shaped
cells with small nuclei, which was consistent with astrocytes. Conclusion: Pathologically, it can be difficult to differentiate astrocytic tumors.
Therefore, when making a diagnosis, it is important that comprehensive examinations
be done in conjunction with the clinical findings. Since retinal astrocytoma
has a favorable prognosis, provided proper treatment is administered,
utilization of endoresection for peripheral astrocytoma may be advantageous in
this patient group.