Fetal brain, head, and neck tumors: Prenatal imaging and management

Abstract

Fetal tumors represent an infrequent pathology when compared to congenital malformations, although their true incidence may be underestimated. A variety of benign and malignant neoplasms may occur anywhere in the neural axis. Imaging plays an important role in the fetal tumor diagnosis and evaluation of their resultant complications. Discovery of a fetal mass on obstetric ultrasound necessitates further evaluation with prenatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). New MR sequences and new applications of existing techniques have been successfully implemented in prenatal imaging. A detailed assessment may be performed using a variety of MR. Fetal tumors may be histologically benign or malignant, but their prognosis generally remains poor, especially for intracranial lesions. Unfavorable tumor location or heightened metabolic demands on a developing fetus may result in severe complications and a fatal outcome, even in cases of benign lesions. Nowadays, prenatal treatment focuses mainly on alleviation of secondary complications caused by the tumors. In this article we review congenital tumors of the brain, face, and neck encountered in prenatal life, and discuss diagnostic clues for appropriate diagnosis.

Improving prenatal detection of abdominal supraumbilical anomalies: The sonographic examination of fetal anechoic spaces of upper abdomen revisited

“…In the vast majority of cases, the underlying condition for a non‐visualized stomach was evident (e.g., renal anomalies associated with severe oligohydramnios/anhydramnios). Similarly, the non‐visualized stomach can be easily explained in cases of orofacial/neck/thoracic tumors in which a patent but compressed esophagus impaired the swallowing process 13–15 …”

“…Similarly, the non-visualized stomach can be easily explained in cases of orofacial/neck/thoracic tumors in which a patent but compressed esophagus impaired the swallowing process. [13][14][15] A more difficult diagnosis to make is esophageal atresia, a condition characterized by an absent portion of the esophagus resulting in the proximal segment being disconnected from the distal segment. 16 This anomaly can be isolated or associated with a tracheoesophageal fistula and prenatally is characterized by an absent or small stomach and polyhydramnios.…”

Case report: Ultrasound-guided intrauterine biopsy and RF ablation therapy for fetal posterior neck solid tumor: first successful report

“…CH is the most common perinatal hemangioma, mostly being single and occurring in the fetal head and neck. It is a benign endothelial tumor that completes the proliferative phase in utero and often stops growing after delivery ( 1 , 12 ). CH is very rare, which makes accurate determination of its incidence difficult.…”

“…Fetal tumors are relatively rare, with a reported incidence of 1.7–13.5 per 100,000 live births ( 1 ). However, the true incidence of these tumors, which were also found in approximately 0.5% of stillbirths and 1.2% of fetuses with birth defects ( 2 , 3 ), is often underestimated.…”

Enhancing Fetal Anomaly Detection in Ultrasonography Images: A Review of Machine Learning-Based Approaches

“…The subjectivity and inaccuracies of medical sonographers and technicians in interpreting ultrasonography images often result in misdiagnoses [1][2][3]. Fetal anomalies can be defined as structural abnormalities in prenatal development that manifest in several critical anatomical sites, such as the fetal heart, central nervous system (CNS), lungs, and kidneys (Table 1) [4,5]. These anomalies can arise during various stages of pregnancy and can be caused by different genetics and environmental factors, or a combination of both, which are called multifactorial disorders (Figure 1) [6,7].…”