5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is a natural precursor of protoporphyrin IX (PP IX), which possesses fluorescent properties and is more intensively accumulated in tumor cells than in normal tissue. Therefore, the use of 5-ALA in the surgical treatment of intracranial tumors, particularly gliomas, has gained popularity in the last years, whereas its use in other intracranial pathological entities including meningiomas has been reported occasionally. This study describes a series of 28 patients with intracranial meningiomas, who were administered 5-ALA for a better visualization of tumor boundaries. Twelve patients underwent also laser spectroscopic analysis in order to confirm the visual impression of tumor tissue visualization. Bone infiltration was readily demonstrated. In one case, the tumor recurrence could have been prevented by removal of a tumor remnant, which would possibly have been better recognized if spectroscopic analysis had been used. Fluorescent navigation (FN) is a useful method for maximizing the radicality of meningioma surgery, particularly if the tumor infiltrates the bone, the skull base, and/or the surrounding structures

The main and only technique for treatment of intracranial neurenteric cysts is their resection.

Meningioma is a well fluorescent tumor, with the technique sensitivity being 94.1%. In some cases, the use of fluorescence diagnostics in surgery of meningiomas improves identification of residual tumor fragments and enables correction of a surgical approach. To assess the effect of fluorescence diagnostics on the recurrence rate and disease-free duration, further research is required.

Hemangioblastoma is a rare CNS vascular tumor that develops sporadically and can also be associated with von Hippel-Lindau disease. Hemangioblastomas account for 2-6% of all spinal cord tumors and are ranked third in the structure of intramedullary space-occupying lesions of the spinal cord. For the first time in our practice, we observed a dumbbell paravertebral hemangioblastoma. The international literature reports only 3 cases of the tumor with this growth type.

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Choroid plexus tumors (CPT) are rare neoplasms accounting for 2–5% of all brain tumours in children, and are most commonly under 2 years of age. Most of these tumors present with symptoms of intracranial hypertension. Survival directly depends on the histological variant of the CPT. Objective of the study: to analyze the current and outcome characteristics of patients with CPT depending on the morphological variant. This study is a multicenter, retrospective, open, uncontrolled, non-comparative, non-randomized, longitudinal study. Materials and methods of research: 152 children with CPT according to the WHO classification of CNS tumors (2007, 2016), aged 0 to 18 years, who received treatment and observed from 2009 to 2019 were included in this study. Results: 83 (54,6%) of 152 children with CPT had choroid plexus papillomas (CPPs), 37 (24,3%) – atypical choroid plexus papillomas (APPs), 32 (21,1%) – choroid plexus carcinomas (CPCs). The median age for CPP was 21 months, for APP – 6 months, for CPC – 30 months. CPTs occurred at the age of less than 24 months in 53,3% of cases. In 70,4% of cases CPT were localized in the lateral ventricles. In most children disease manifested by intracranial hypertension, and this symptomatology in children with CPC was statistically significantly more frequent than in children with CPP (p=0,0042). In 28,9% of patients with CPP, 24,3% with APP and 9,4% with CPC the disease was asymptomatic, and all these patients were diagnosed during routine preventive examination. Five-year event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) for CPP, APP and CPC were 96%±2% and 99%±1%, 81%±7% and 97%±3%, 44%±10% and 66%±10%, respectively (p<0,0001). Conclusion: for the first time in the national literature the results of a retrospective analysis of clinical characteristics and survival of children suffering from a rare group of diseases such as CPT are collected and presented.