Skip to main content

Skull Base Tumors

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
  • 148 Accesses

Abstract

Skull base tumors in the pediatric population are relatively rare. However, when they do occur, they can present some unique challenges to the pediatric neurosurgeon due to the complexity of the location at which they arise and the anatomic peculiarities of the pediatric skull base. Here we present the steps to evaluate a skull base tumor and discuss particular tumors that are commonly encountered in more detail. Furthermore, we will describe various approaches to different areas of the skull base, as well as the relevant postoperative therapies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Abolfotoh M, Bi WL, Hong CK, Almefty KK, Boskovitz A, Dunn IF, Al-Mefty O (2015) The combined microscopic-endoscopic technique for radical resection of cerebellopontine angle tumors. J Neurosurg 123(5):1301–1311. https://doi.org/10.3171/2014.10.JNS141465

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Billmire DF, Grosfeld JL (1986) Teratomas in childhood: analysis of 142 cases. J Pediatr Surg 21(6):548–551

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borba LA, Al-Mefty O, Mrak RE, Suen J (1996) Cranial chordomas in children and adolescents [Case reports review]. J Neurosurg 84(4):584–591. https://doi.org/10.3171/jns.1996.84.4.0584

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cass SP, Sekhar LN, Pomeranz S, Hirsch BE, Snyderman CH (1994) Excision of petroclival tumors by a total petrosectomy approach. Am J Otol 15(4):474–484

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cerullo L, Grutsch J, Osterdock R (1998) Recurrence of vestibular (acoustic) schwannomas in surgical patients where preservation of facial and cochlear nerve is the priority. Br J Neurosurg 12(6):547–552

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Combs SE, Welzel T, Schulz-Ertner D, Huber PE, Debus J (2010) Differences in clinical results after LINAC-based single-dose radiosurgery versus fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for patients with vestibular schwannomas [Evaluation studies]. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 76(1):193–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2009.01.064

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • de Divitiis E, Cappabianca P, Gangemi M, Cavallo LM (2000) The role of the endoscopic transsphenoidal approach in pediatric neurosurgery [Review]. Childs Nerv Syst 16(10–11): 692–696. https://doi.org/10.1007/s003810000350

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DeBaun MR, Tucker MA (1998) Risk of cancer during the first four years of life in children from the Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome registry [Research support, non-U.S. Gov’t]. J Pediatr 132(3 Pt 1):398–400

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Desai KI, Nadkarni TD, Goel A, Muzumdar DP, Naresh KN, Nair CN (2000) Primary Ewing’s sarcoma of the cranium [Review]. Neurosurgery 46(1):62–68; discussion 68-69

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • El Kababri M, Habrand JL, Valteau-Couanet D, Gaspar N, Dufour C, Oberlin O (2014) Esthesioneuroblastoma in children and adolescent: experience on 11 cases with literature review. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 36(2):91–95. https://doi.org/10.1097/MPH.0000000000000095

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fisch U, Pillsbury HC (1979) Infratemporal fossa approach to lesions in the temporal bone and base of the skull [Case reports]. Arch Otolaryngol 105(2):99–107

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gates GA, Rice DH, Koopmann CF Jr, Schuller DE (1992) Flutamide-induced regression of angiofibroma [Research support, non-U.S. Gov’t]. Laryngoscope 102(6):641–644. https://doi.org/10.1288/00005537-199206000-00009

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goepfert H, Cangir A, Lee YY (1985) Chemotherapy for aggressive juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma [Case reports]. Arch Otolaryngol 111(5):285–289

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goksu N, Bayazit Y, Kemaloglu Y (1999) Endoscopy of the posterior fossa and dissection of acoustic neuroma [Clinical trial]. J Neurosurg 91(5):776–780. https://doi.org/10.3171/jns.1999.91.5.0776

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gripp KW, Scott CI Jr, Nicholson L, McDonald-McGinn DM, Ozeran JD, Jones MC, … Zackai EH (2002) Five additional Costello syndrome patients with rhabdomyosarcoma: proposal for a tumor screening protocol. Am J Med Genet 108(1):80–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartley AL, Birch JM, Marsden HB, Harris M, Blair V (1988) Neurofibromatosis in children with soft tissue sarcoma [Research support, non-U.S. Gov’t]. Pediatr Hematol Oncol 5(1):7–16

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins DB, Luxford WM (1980) Schwannomas of the head and neck in children [Case reports]. Laryngoscope 90(12):1921–1926

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Healy JF, Bishop J, Rosenkrantz H (1981) Cranial computed tomography in the detection of dural, orbital, and skull involvement in metastatic neuroblastoma [Case reports]. J Comput Tomogr 5(4):319–323

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Heffelfinger MJ, Dahlin DC, MacCarty CS, Beabout JW (1973) Chordomas and cartilaginous tumors at the skull base. Cancer 32(2):410–420

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hoch BL, Nielsen GP, Liebsch NJ, Rosenberg AE (2006) Base of skull chordomas in children and adolescents: a clinicopathologic study of 73 cases. Am J Surg Pathol 30(7):811–818. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.pas.0000209828.39477.ab

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jacob HE (1994) Chemotherapy for cranial base tumors [Review]. J Neuro-Oncol 20(3):327–335

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jafek BW, Krekorian EA, Kirsch WM, Wood RP (1979) Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma: management of intracranial extension [Case reports research support, non-U.S. Gov’t]. Head Neck Surg 2(2):119–128

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jho HD, Carrau RL (1997) Endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery: experience with 50 patients [Clinical trial]. J Neurosurg 87(1):44–51. https://doi.org/10.3171/jns.1997.87.1.0044

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kadish S, Goodman M, Wang CC (1976) Olfactory neuroblastoma. A clinical analysis of 17 cases. Cancer 37(3):1571–1576

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kushner BH (2004) Neuroblastoma: a disease requiring a multitude of imaging studies [Review]. J Nucl Med 45(7):1172–1188

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lang DA, Neil-Dwyer G, Evans BT, Honeybul S (1998) Craniofacial access in children. Acta Neurochir 140(1):33–40

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee JP, Tsai MS, Chen YR (1993) Orbitozygomatic infratemporal approach to lateral skull base tumors [Case reports]. Acta Neurol Scand 87(5):403–409

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li FP, Fraumeni JF Jr (1969) Soft-tissue sarcomas, breast cancer, and other neoplasms. A familial syndrome? Ann Intern Med 71(4):747–752

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas JT Jr, Ladra MM, MacDonald SM, Busse PM, Friedmann AM, Ebb DH, … Yock TI (2015) Proton therapy for pediatric and adolescent esthesioneuroblastoma. Pediatr Blood Cancer 62(9):1523–1528. https://doi.org/10.1002/pbc.25494

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maris JM, Hogarty MD, Bagatell R, Cohn SL (2007) Neuroblastoma [Research support, N.I.H., extramural research support, non-U.S. Gov’t review]. Lancet 369(9579):2106–2120. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60983-0

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Matsui I, Tanimura M, Kobayashi N, Sawada T, Nagahara N, Akatsuka J (1993) Neurofibromatosis type 1 and childhood cancer [Research support, non-U.S. Gov’t]. Cancer 72(9):2746–2754

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mc CL, Harris HE (1955) Neurogenic tumors of the nasal fossa. J Am Med Assoc 157(4):318–321

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy ES, Suh JH (2011) Radiotherapy for vestibular schwannomas: a critical review [Review]. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 79(4):985–997. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2010.10.010

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nichols AC, Chan AW, Curry WT, Barker FG, Deschler DG, Lin DT (2008) Esthesioneuroblastoma: the massachusetts eye and ear infirmary and massachusetts general hospital experience with craniofacial resection, proton beam radiation, and chemotherapy. Skull Base 18(5):327–337. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2008-1076098

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ohta S, Yokoyama T, Nishizawa S, Uemura K (1998) Regrowth of the residual tumour after acoustic neurinoma surgery. Br J Neurosurg 12(5):419–422

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oskouian RJ Jr, Jane JA Sr, Dumont AS, Sheehan JM, Laurent JJ, Levine PA (2002) Esthesioneuroblastoma: clinical presentation, radiological, and pathological features, treatment, review of the literature, and the University of Virginia experience [Review]. Neurosurg Focus 12(5):e4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park JR, Eggert A, Caron H (2008) Neuroblastoma: biology, prognosis, and treatment [Review]. Pediatr Clin N Am 55(1):97–120., x. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2007.10.014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pastore G, Peris-Bonet R, Carli M, Martinez-Garcia C, Sanchez de Toledo J, Steliarova-Foucher E (2006) Childhood soft tissue sarcomas incidence and survival in European children (1978–1997): report from the automated childhood cancer information system project [Research support, non-U.S. Gov’t]. Eur J Cancer 42(13):2136–2149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2006.05.016

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Quezada E, Gripp KW (2007) Costello syndrome and related disorders. Curr Opin Pediatr 19(6):636–644. https://doi.org/10.1097/MOP.0b013e3282f161dc

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reddy KA, Mendenhall WM, Amdur RJ, Stringer SP, Cassisi NJ (2001) Long-term results of radiation therapy for juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma. Am J Otolaryngol 22(3):172–175. https://doi.org/10.1053/ajot.2001.23458

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ries LA, Harkins D, Krapcho M, Mariotto A, Miller BA, Feuer EJ, Clegg LX, Eisner MP, Horner MJ, Howlader N, Hayat M (2006) SEER cancer statistics review 1975–2003

    Google Scholar 

  • Sasaki CT, Lowlicht RA, Astrachan DI, Friedman CD, Goodwin WJ, Morales M (1990) Le fort I osteotomy approach to the skull base [Research support, non-U.S. Gov’t]. Laryngoscope 100(10 Pt 1):1073–1076

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schick B, Kahle G, Hassler R, Draf W (1996) [Chemotherapy of juvenile angiofibroma – an alternative?] [Case Reports]. HNO 44(3):148–152

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shahinian HK, Eby JB, Ocon M (2004) Fully endoscopic excision of vestibular schwannomas [Case reports]. Minim Invasive Neurosurg 47(6):329–332. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2004-830122

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sibley RK, Day DL, Dehner LP, Trueworthy RC (1987) Metastasizing chordoma in early childhood: a pathological and immunohistochemical study with review of the literature [Case reports]. Pediatr Pathol 7(3):287–301

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith AC, Squire JA, Thorner P, Zielenska M, Shuman C, Grant R et al (2001) Association of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma with the Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome [Case reports]. Pediatr Dev Pathol 4(6):550–558

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Spacca B, Kandasamy J, Mallucci CL, Genitori L (2010) Endoscopic treatment of middle fossa arachnoid cysts: a series of 40 patients treated endoscopically in two centres [Multicenter study]. Childs Nerv Syst 26(2):163–172. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-009-0952-1

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinbok P, Flodmark O, Norman MG, Chan KW, Fryer CJ (1986) Primary Ewing’s sarcoma of the base of the skull [Case reports]. Neurosurgery 19(1):104–107

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Teo C, Dornhoffer J, Hanna E, Bower C (1999) Application of skull base techniques to pediatric neurosurgery [Case reports review]. Childs Nerv Syst 15(2–3):103–109

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weber DC, Chan AW, Bussiere MR, Harsh GR 4th, Ancukiewicz M, Barker FG 2nd, … Loeffler JS (2003) Proton beam radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma: tumor control and cranial nerve toxicity [Evaluation studies]. Neurosurgery 53(3):577–586; discussion 586-578

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Levy .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Calayag, M., Hoshide, R., Kemp, J., Levy, M. (2018). Skull Base Tumors. In: Di Rocco, C., Pang, D., Rutka, J. (eds) Textbook of Pediatric Neurosurgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31512-6_94-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31512-6_94-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31512-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31512-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics