1/44. Chiasmatic low-grade glioma presenting with sacral intradural spinal metastasis.Leptomeningeal metastasis of low-grade gliomas in children has been documented in several series, both at the time of diagnosis and at relapse. The authors report a unique case of chiasmatic low-grade astrocytoma presenting with signs and symptoms related to the metastatic site rather than the primary site. In this respect, the possibility of appearance of symptoms and signs related to leptomeningeal dissemination preceding the signs and symptoms belonging to the primary site should be considered in this type of benign tumours.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = spinal (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/44. Spinal seeding of anaplastic ependymoma mimicking fungal meningitis. A case report and review of the literature.BACKGROUND: The spinal seeding from brain tumors sometimes mimicks fungal meningitis on examination of cerebrospinal fluid. methods AND RESULTS: A 19-year-old woman gradually developed increased intracranial hypertension. MRI identified a mass in the right parieto-occipital area. It was totally removed and histologically diagnosed as an anaplastic ependymoma. radiation- and chemotherapy were administered postoperatively. The patient reported low back pain 5 months after the surgical treatment. MRI disclosed neither spinal dissemination nor tumor recurrence at the primary site. Lumbar puncture was performed and the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was found to have an extremely low glucose level (5 mg/dl); no tumor cells were identified. Blood samples were obtained and a relative increase of WBC and CRP was noted. A slight degree of inflammation and low-grade fever were recorded. A tentative diagnosis of fungal meningitis was made and anti-fungal therapy was administered transventricularly and transvenously. However, her neurological condition continued to deteriorate gradually. Sequential CSF studies showed that the glucose level remained extremely low, it even decreased to 0 mg/dl Eight months after the surgical treatment, MRI with Gd-DTPA revealed marked subarachnoid enhancement in both intracranial and spinal areas. An open biopsy was performed and a histological diagnosis of intracranial and spinal seeding of the anaplastic ependymoma was returned. CONCLUSIONS: We report a patient with intracranial and spinal seeding of an anaplastic ependymoma that mimicked fungal meningitis. We discuss the difficulty of obtaining a differential diagnosis in this case and describe the mechanism of the decreased CSF glucose level.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.0652683716752keywords = puncture, spinal (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/44. Local breast cancer recurrence caused by mammographically guided punctures.PURPOSE: To evaluate the risk of needle track seeding or tumor cell implantation as the cause of locally recurrent breast cancer after breast conserving surgery. MATERIAL AND methods: We reviewed recurrences from a consecutive series of 303 clinically nonpalpable breast cancers treated with breast conserving surgery after pre-operative localization. The median mammographic follow-up was 5.4 years. The suspicion of seeding or implantation was based on the location of the recurrent lesion in comparison with the needle path in two orthogonal mammographic projections. Pre-operative percutaneous biopsies had been done in 71% (214/303) of the cases. Postoperative radiotherapy was administered to 82% (194/238) of the invasive cancers and to 28% (18/65) of the ductal cancers in situ (DCIS). RESULTS: Locally recurrent cancer occurred in 11% (33/303) of the cases. radiotherapy demonstrated a protective effect from relapse among invasive cancers but not for DCIS. Seeding or implantation was suspected in 3 recurrent invasive cancers which had not been subject to radiotherapy. The histopathological diagnosis of the primary cancer and the recurrent cancer were the same in these cases: adenoid cystic, mucinous and tubuloductal cancer. CONCLUSION: Seeding or implantation was suspected as the cause of local recurrence in 7% (3/44) of the invasive cancers which did not receive radiotherapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5.2610734867008keywords = puncture (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/44. Evidence of therapeutic efficacy of CCNU in recurrent choroid plexus papilloma.A pregnant 33-year old woman developed nystagmus and cerebellar ataxia. A tumor in the roof of the fourth ventricle was diagnosed. The tumor was subtotally removed using microneurosurgical techniques. The histopathological diagnosis was choroid plexus papilloma (CPP). Twenty-one months later, the tumor recurred and was reoperated. Histologically the tumor displayed now increased mitotic activity and pleomorphism. radiation therapy of the neuroaxis was performed. Within 59 months, the CPP recurred 3 more times with neuroradiological evidence of extensive spinal seeding. After several palliative irradiations, including 2 gamma-knife boosts, the patient was referred to chemotherapy. She was treated with CCNU (Lomustin) 100 mg/m2 orally (12 cycles, cumulative dosis 1440 mg/m2). Within 42 months, there was no new local recurrence and spinal seeding showed significant regression. Clinically the patient improved and stabilized, but needs continuous support because of persisting severe gait ataxia. The course of disease in our patient provides evidence for therapeutic efficacy of CCNU in recurrent CPP.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = spinal (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/44. Postoperative spinal seeding of craniopharyngioma. Case report.The authors present a case of postoperative spinal seeding of papillary craniopharyngioma. This 27-year-old man who had previously undergone subtotal removal of a suprasellar craniopharyngioma was admitted because of low-back and right leg pain. Results of neurological examination showed a limitation in straight-leg raising in the right side with no sensorimotor changes. magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine demonstrated multiple enhanced intradural extramedullary masses causing spinal cord compression. Pathological examination of the tumor tissue obtained via laminectomy revealed papillary craniopharyngioma, which had the same histological features as those of the previous suprasellar tumor. Several ectopic recurrences of craniopharyngioma have been reported; however, the authors believe that this is the first published report of the spinal seeding of craniopharyngioma.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.75keywords = spinal (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/44. Does craniopharyngioma metastasize? Case report and review of the literature.OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: A rare case of recurrent craniopharyngioma at an ectopic location is described. This recurrence suggested cerebrospinal fluid seeding. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 65-year-old man presented for follow-up of persisting visual field defect. He had undergone total resection of a suprasellar craniopharyngioma via a subfrontal approach 3 years before presentation. Recent magnetic resonance imaging scans revealed a contrast-enhancing tumor with cystic and solid components at the right temporal lobe. The primary tumor bed was intact. INTERVENTION: A temporal craniotomy was performed for total resection of the tumor. Intraoperative findings revealed that the recurrent tumor was anatomically unrelated to the previous surgical track. Histological studies of the tumor specimen demonstrated a benign craniopharyngioma. cerebrospinal fluid spreading was suspected to be the sole route for the recurrence. CONCLUSION: The case presented here and a review of reports on remote recurrence of craniopharyngioma suggest that care is required during intraoperative handling of the tumor and that long-term follow-up should be performed even in patients whose primary tumor was resected completely.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.5keywords = spinal (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/44. Pituitary tumours are multiclonal from the outset: evidence from a case with dural metastases.In 1992 a 54-year-old man underwent transsphenoidal adenomectomy to remove a clinically nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma during which there was a transient cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak. He received radiotherapy to a small residual remnant. Follow-up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan in 1997 showed an increase in the tumour in the pituitary stalk region and an additional intradural lesion at C1 level. In the absence of neurological symptoms and signs, an observational policy was followed. By 1999 the cervical dural lesion had enlarged and laminectomy was performed, during which three intradural lesions were removed. histology and immunohistochemistry of the metastases were identical to those of the initial pituitary adenoma. Follow-up MRI scan showed extension of the pituitary remnant above the chiasma, requiring transfrontal surgery. Operation was complicated by secondary brain haemorrhage from which the patient died. autopsy revealed a small amount of residual tumour at the top of the stalk and several small intradural tumour nodules at the level of the foramen magnum. Genetic analysis of the initial pituitary tumour identified significant allelic losses in keeping with its invasive nature, while that of the metastases indicated a separate clone as shown by retention of alleles lost in the primary tumour. The regrown pituitary tumour also appeared to be of a different clone to the initial tumour and the same as two of three of the first metastases (C1 level). The foramen magnum metastasis showed the same loss of heterozygosity (LOH) pattern as one of the original C1 metastases and the pituitary tumour tissue obtained at autopsy. We speculate that at the initial pituitary surgery, cells seeded into the CSF and grew in the dura. These cells were from a different clone, implying that the original pituitary tumour contained at least two clones, possibly three, providing evidence for the contemporaneous oligoclonality of the original pituitary tumour.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.25keywords = spinal (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/44. Multiple intracranial seeding of craniopharyngioma after repeated surgery--case report.A 17-year-old woman presented with a rare case of intracranial seeding of craniopharyngioma after repeated surgery. She initially presented with secondary amenorrhea and visual impairment. magnetic resonance imaging revealed a suprasellar mass. Subtotal removal of the tumor was performed. The diagnosis was adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma. Seven months later, the patient underwent a second operation for recurrence of the craniopharyngioma. Subsequently, ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunting and gamma knife surgery were performed. Twenty-seven months after the first operation, multiple cystic lesions were found in the right frontal and temporal lobes. Positive tumor cytology was observed in the cerebrospinal fluid obtained from the VP shunt chamber. These tumors were subtotally resected. However, the patient died from consecutive tumor recurrence 4 years after the initial diagnosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.25keywords = spinal (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/44. Reverse seeding of recurrent intraspinal malignant meningioma.Meningiomas are common intracranial and intraspinal tumors and constitute 15-20% of all primary brain tumors. Ten to 15% of all meningiomas are considered malignant. The main treatment of meningiomas is surgical resection. meningioma recurrence following surgery is frequent. However, it is not clear whether recurrent meningiomas, close or distant to the primary resection site, arise from incomplete resection, dissemination of tumor fragments or from independent tumor growth. We herein describe a 40-year-old woman with intraspinal malignant meningioma recurring each time upwards, i.e. apparently by reverse way of seeding, via cerebrospinal fluid.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.75keywords = spinal (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/44. Diagnostic difficulty arising from displaced epithelium after core biopsy in intracystic papillary lesions of the breast.This study reports two cases of intracystic papillary carcinoma of the breast, which had been biopsied preoperatively using a 14 gauge (14G) core biopsy needle. In each case, a needle tract containing groups of epithelial cells within granulation tissue could be identified on histology of the excised specimen. Both cases showed extracapsular tumour, which was interpreted as displacement of epithelium related to preoperative core biopsy. Subsequent axillary lymph node sampling showed no evidence of metastasis. In one case, extracapsular tumour appeared to be in blood vessels, but flattened cells lining the spaces containing tumour failed to react with factor 8 related antigen or CD34 on immunohistochemistry. It is likely that intracystic papillary carcinomas are particularly prone to this artefact because friable tumour fragments escape, accompanied by cyst fluid, when the capsule is punctured by a 14G core biopsy needle.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1.3152683716752keywords = puncture (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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