Glioblastoma multiforme with very rapid growth and long-term survival in children: report of two cases and review of the literature.

Glioblastoma occurs rarely in pediatric patients (0.6-7.9% of all glioblastomas). Symptom duration is about 3-5 months prior to diagnosis with a dismal prognosis (median survival of 50 weeks). The authors describe two pediatric age patients with histopathologically confirmed glioblastoma multiforme whose lesions appeared within just 1 week of normal computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging. Both patients had long-term survival (one of them 6 years and the other 3 years and 7 months) following tumor resection. The present report serially illustrates the very rapid development of glioblastoma in childhood and emphasizes the importance of serial neuroimaging as well as paying attention to sudden onset headaches in pediatric patients with inconclusive imaging findings.