MRI scan; brain cancer (astrocytoma)

Magnetic resonance image (MRI), coronal slice, of 4-year-old child with grade II astrocytoma and epileptic fits. See also N0014117-14118. Astrocytomas are neoplasms of the brain and spinal cord derived from glial cells which vary from histologically benign forms to highly anaplastic and malignant tumours. Fibrillary astrocytomas are the most common type and may be classified in order of increasing malignancy (grades I through IV). In the first two decades of life, astrocytomas tend to originate in the cerebellar hemispheres; in adults, they most frequently arise in the cerebrum and frequently undergo malignant transformation.