Biological factors involved in the clinical features and surgical management of cerebellar hemangioblastomas.

Sixty-five personal cases of cerebellar hemangioblastomas plus others from the literature making a total of 539 cases are reviewed regarding their clinical, biological and surgical aspects. A variable genetic blastomatous growth potential seems to determine the individual biological behavior of these tumors. Retinal angiomatosis, family incidence, multicentric tumors in the central nervous system and in other organs, and some of the so-called recurrences, are considered within this concept.