TY - JOUR
T1 - High-grade intracranial chondrosarcoma presenting with haemorrhage
AU - Little, Anjuli
AU - Chung, Caroline
AU - Perez-Ordonez, Bayardo
AU - Mikulis, David
AU - Valiante, Taufik A.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2013 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2013/10
Y1 - 2013/10
N2 - Chondrosarcomas are rare sarcomas that produce malignant cartilage, infrequently arising as a primary intracranial tumour. We present a patient with intracranial chondrosarcoma with intratumoural haemorrhage arising in an unusual location and with unusual imaging findings. A 46-year-old man presented with headache, nausea, and vomiting over the previous 24 hours. Physical and neurological examinations were normal. Cranial CT scans and MRI revealed a large right pre-frontal (subdural) and interhemispheric heterogeneous density associated with a frontal, partially calcified mass and midline shift. An awake craniotomy was performed. With the intra-operative quick section favouring subdural hematoma, the lesion was subtotally resected. Follow-up imaging confirmed residual mass. Pathology examination revealed a high-grade malignant neoplasm with chondroid differentiation, diagnosed as conventional Grade III chondrosarcoma. The patient was referred to oncology for follow-up and radiation therapy. Intracranial chondrosarcoma was first reported in 1899, and since then continues to be an extremely rare malignancy of the brain. These tumours commonly present as extra-axial masses, originating from the skull base, and produce symptoms due to progressive enlargement and compression of local structures. Unusual presentations of these tumours, such as vascularity, intratumoural haemorrhage, and intra-axial location, may complicate pre-surgical decision making by altering the provisional diagnosis prior to intervention. This patient emphasises the importance of careful analysis and incorporation of imaging findings into surgical decision making. Specific imaging characteristics that, in such unusual situations, are suggestive of chondrosarcoma should motivate an aggressive surgical approach to optimise adjuvant interventions.
AB - Chondrosarcomas are rare sarcomas that produce malignant cartilage, infrequently arising as a primary intracranial tumour. We present a patient with intracranial chondrosarcoma with intratumoural haemorrhage arising in an unusual location and with unusual imaging findings. A 46-year-old man presented with headache, nausea, and vomiting over the previous 24 hours. Physical and neurological examinations were normal. Cranial CT scans and MRI revealed a large right pre-frontal (subdural) and interhemispheric heterogeneous density associated with a frontal, partially calcified mass and midline shift. An awake craniotomy was performed. With the intra-operative quick section favouring subdural hematoma, the lesion was subtotally resected. Follow-up imaging confirmed residual mass. Pathology examination revealed a high-grade malignant neoplasm with chondroid differentiation, diagnosed as conventional Grade III chondrosarcoma. The patient was referred to oncology for follow-up and radiation therapy. Intracranial chondrosarcoma was first reported in 1899, and since then continues to be an extremely rare malignancy of the brain. These tumours commonly present as extra-axial masses, originating from the skull base, and produce symptoms due to progressive enlargement and compression of local structures. Unusual presentations of these tumours, such as vascularity, intratumoural haemorrhage, and intra-axial location, may complicate pre-surgical decision making by altering the provisional diagnosis prior to intervention. This patient emphasises the importance of careful analysis and incorporation of imaging findings into surgical decision making. Specific imaging characteristics that, in such unusual situations, are suggestive of chondrosarcoma should motivate an aggressive surgical approach to optimise adjuvant interventions.
KW - Chondrosarcoma
KW - Diagnostic imaging
KW - Intracranial
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jocn.2012.10.036
DO - 10.1016/j.jocn.2012.10.036
M3 - Article
C2 - 23746570
AN - SCOPUS:84885391110
SN - 0967-5868
VL - 20
SP - 1457
EP - 1460
JO - Journal of Clinical Neuroscience
JF - Journal of Clinical Neuroscience
IS - 10
ER -