[Glioblastoma multiforme with liver metastasis--case report]

Abstract

Extracranial metastasis of glioblastoma is rare. This is an autopsy case report of a patient with glioblastoma multiforme found to have metastasized to the liver. A 42-year-old woman was admitted with a chief complaint of headache. Physical and neurological examinations on admission showed no abnormalities. CT and MRI demonstrated a tumor in the left parietooccipital region with invasion into the subependymal area of the left lateral ventricular trig-one. A cerebral angiogram showed tumor staining in the same area. Subtotal tumor resection was performed uneventfully. The microscopic diagnosis was glioblastoma multiforme. Postoperatively, the patient underwent whole brain and local irradiation, and intra-arterial ACNU infusion therapy. One month later, she developed low back pain, probably due to spinal dissemination. Postmortem examination showed local recurrence of the tumor and subarachnoidal dissemination not only in the base of the skull but in the lower spinal cord. Tumor was also observed in the liver, but no lung or lymph node metastasis was detected. Metastasis to the liver in this patient is believed to have occurred via the anastomosis between the vertebral and portal venous system.