Optic nerve gliomas may occur alone or as components of neurofibromatosis. They are rare tumors accounting for 2 to 5% of all intracranial tumors and 6% of the intra-orbitary neoplasms. The authors present 11 cases of optic nerve glioma diagnosed in Curitiba in the last 25 years. Out of these 11 patients there were 10 women and only 1 man. The ages ranged from 3 to 25 years old, and 6 patients were under 15 years. In this series, 27,3% (n=3) of the cases were associated with neurofibromatosis. Five patients had their tumors restricted to the optic nerve while the others had either extension to the optic chiasm, supra-selar region, frontal or temporal lobe. All the patients had pilocytic astrocytomas.
optic nerve; astrocytoma; optic chiasm; glioma