The dilemma of childhood optic gliomas.

A retrospective series reviewing 28 cases of optic glioma in childhood is reported from the Columbus Children's Hospital. The literature is reviewed from a clinical and pathological standpoint; in the pathological literature there is support for consideration of these lesions as a neoplastic entity, but none for designation of these gliomas as "hamartomas." An approach to the management of optic gliomas is presented. Treatment should be tailored to the individual patient; no clear therapeutic protocol appears to be supported by available data.