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RADIOLOGIC DIFFERENTIAL OF A THIRDVENTRICULAR MASS IN A SEVEN-MONTH-OLD INFANT: CHOROID PLEXUS TUMOR VERSUS CRIBRIFORM NEUROEPITHELIAL TUMOR

Authors

Lina Lasri, Samia Obilat, Alia Yassine Kassab, Lina Belkouchi, Siham El Haddad, Nazik Allali, Latifa Chat

Journal Information

Journal: Medpeer Publisher

ISSN: 3066-2737

Volume: 3

Issue: 8

Date of Publication: 2026/08/15

DOI: 10.70780/medpeer.000QGVF

Abstract

Intraventricular tumors in infants constitute a narrow but clinically important differential diagnosis. We report a seven-month-old boy who presented with progressive macrocephaly, a bulging anterior fontanelle, and generalized hypotonia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed marked supratentorial ventriculomegaly and a well-circumscribed, lobulated mass centered on the third ventricle. The lesion was isointense to gray matter on T1-weighted imaging, intermediate in signal on T2-weighted imaging, did not restrict diffusion, and enhanced avidly and heterogeneously after gadolinium administration. Susceptibility-sensitive imaging showed internal hemorrhagic foci. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy demonstrated elevated choline with markedly reduced N-acetylaspartate and creatine. A choroid plexus tumor was favored radiologically, with carcinoma considered because of the hemorrhage and heterogeneous enhancement; cribriform neuroepithelial tumor was the principal alternative diagnosis. Histopathologic confirmation and follow-up data were unavailable. This case illustrates how multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging can narrow the differential diagnosis of an infantile intraventricular mass while emphasizing that imaging cannot distinguish these entities definitively without tissue-based assessment.

Keywords

choroid plexus tumor; cribriform neuroepithelial tumor; third ventricle; infant; magnetic resonance spectroscopy

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