A Rare Case of Pancreatoblastoma with Intracranial Seeding

Abstract

Background: Pancreatoblastoma is an extremely rare neoplasm that accounts for 0.5% of all pancreatic exocrine tumors. These rare entities typically manifest in the pediatric population but can rarely occur in adults. Systemic seeding has been described before but intracranial metastasis in adults has yet to be described.

Case description: A 28-year-old woman with a history of pancreatoblastoma that had been in remission for 51 months after treatment with cisplatin, doxorubicin (Adriamycin), and etoposide had presented to the emergency room with chronic recurrent headaches. Conservative management of the headaches failed, which led to a diagnostic workup with magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a well-circumscribed solitary cerebellar lesion. Metastatic disease was suspected, and the patient underwent suboccipital craniotomy for tumor resection with adjuvant gamma knife radiosurgery.

Conclusions: Central nervous system seeding of pancreatoblastoma is rare, and the available evidence suggests that the strategy we used could be adequate for treating such occurrences.

Keywords: Intracranial neoplasms; Neurosurgical procedures; Pancreatoblastoma; Radiosurgery; Surgical oncology.