What is Desmoplastic Infantile Ganglioglioma (DIG)?
Desmoplastic Infantile Ganglioglioma (DIG) is characterized by a large tumor which tends to be primarily on a single side of the brain. It was first described as a new type of rare tumor in 1987. This brain tumor occurs in children and is usually found in the first year of life. It is exceptionally rare and there is not much information in the literature about it. It was originally classified as a low grade, slow growing tumor that tends to be massive and benign. There is a movement in the current medical community to reclassify this tumor as malignant or fast growing. It is a Mixed Type cancer which means there are different type of cells that make up the tumor mass. In the case of DIG there are three types of cells: • Cysts – fluid filled sacks • Hard nodule like type of cell • Generally soft tissue cancer cell There are two other types of brain tumors that are similar to DIG, desmoplastic infantile astrocytoma, and pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma. All of these tumors are thought to be
