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Case Reports
. 2024 Apr 29;86(6):3757-3761.
doi: 10.1097/MS9.0000000000002099. eCollection 2024 Jun.

Primary spinal oligodendroglioma with intracranial extension: a case report

George Bashour  1   2 , Nahar Ismaiel  1   2 , Yousef Ebrahim  1   2 , Manar Ibrahim  1   2 , Tala Deeb  1   2 , Karam Khatab  3 , Mohammad S Ali  3 , Zuheir Alshehabi  1   4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Primary spinal oligodendroglioma with intracranial extension: a case report

George Bashour et al. Ann Med Surg (Lond). .

Abstract

Introduction: Primary spinal cord oligodendrogliomas (PSO) are sporadic tumors that arise from oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS). They can affect adults and children and make up about 2% of all intramedullary (IM) spinal tumors. Here, the authors present the second case in the literature of a primary spinal oligodendroglioma with intracranial extension.

Presentation: A 28-year-old right-handed female presented to our emergency room severely malaised with left-sided hemiparesis, numbness, tingling, and urinary retention with positive Babinski and negative Hoffmann. MRI showed a widespread heterogeneous mass extending from the medulla to C7 with syringomyelia inferior to the mass. The mass was removed surgically, and her neurological condition improved rapidly. The gross, pathological exams, and immunohistochemistry confirmed the diagnosis of oligodendroglioma.

Discussion: Up until 2017, there have been 60 documented cases of PSO in the literature and we have found two more cases in our search between 2017 and 2023. Also, there has been only one case recorded with an intracranial extension, making our case the 63rd PSO case and the second one with cranial extension.

Conclusion: The golden standard for imaging is MRI. Surgical excision is the main treatment in the literature. Single-stage laminectomy showed promising results and surgical resection was the critical intervention to which the patient responded. This matches what was stated in the literature that surgery is the primary mode of treatment in PSO patients.

Keywords: intracranial extension; intramedullary spinal tumors; oligodendroglioma.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declares no conflicts of interest.Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(Colored). A. MRI, sagittal section, T2: Shows a heterogeneous hyperintense lesion extending from C7 to the medulla. B. MRI, sagittal section, T1: Shows a heterogeneous Isointense lesion extending from C7 to the medulla with a hypointensity extending caudal to the mass (Syrinx).
Figure 2
Figure 2
(Colored). A. surgical view, C2 to C7 bilateral laminectomy, the tumor is identified. B. surgical view, the tumor is dissected bluntly using saline. C. surgical view, the tumor is removed in a piecemeal fashion.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(Colored). A. Oligodendroglioma, diffuse proliferation of variable-sized glial cells mainly oligodendrocytes. (H&E×40). B. Oligodendroglioma, Neoplastic oligodendrocytes with central round or elongated hyperchromatic nuclei, clear cytoplasm, and occasional mitotic figures in addition to proliferation of small thin-walled blood vessels.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(Colored). A. Immunohistochemistry showing positivity for GFAP. B. Immunohistochemistry showing positivity for Vimentin. C. Immunohistochemistry showing positivity for S-100.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(Colored). A. CT, axial section, dilation of the 3rd ventricle indicating hydrocephalus. B. CT, axial section, dilation of the lateral ventricles indicating hydrocephalus.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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