A case of multiple brain metastases of uterine leiomyosarcoma with a literature review

Abstract

Brain metastasis from uterine leiomyosarcoma is extremely rare, and prognostically alarming despite various treatments. The authors report a case of multiple brain metastases from uterine leiomyosarcoma who took a favorable course after tumor resection and γ-knife treatment. A 50-year-old woman with a history of hysterectomy for uterine leiomyosarcoma two years earlier, presented with a recent onset of headaches and vomiting. Multiple cerebral lesions were found by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The Karnofsky performance scale (KPS) was 40 with left hemiparesis and cerebellar ataxia. She was treated by resection of the left occipital and cerebellar tumors, followed by γ-knife irradiation of the residual tumors. KPS was 70 at her discharge from the hospital. MRI failed to show recurrence of the intracranial lesions 6 months after irradiation. She remained at home until she died from massive intra-abdominal bleeding. This is the first case with multiple brain metastases from uterine leiomyosarcoma, who survived with remarkable neurological improvement for 12 months. No comparable survival has been reported in the literature. It is evident that surgical resection and additional γ-knife irradiation contributed to early neurological recovery.