Author/Editor     Volavšek, Metka; Lamovec, Janez; Popović, Mara
Title     Extraneural metastases of anaplastic oligodendroglial tumors
Type     članek
Source     Pathol Res Pract
Vol. and No.     Letnik 205, št. 7
Publication year     2009
Volume     str. 502-7
Language     eng
Abstract     Extraneural metastases of malignant gliomas are rare. According to the literature, they tend to appear in glioblastoma patients, but are exceptionally rare in anaplastic oligodendroglioma. We report on an anaplastic oligodendroglioma and an anaplastic oligoastrocytoma that metastasized to cervical lymph nodes and bones. Both patients were women aged 54 and 30 years, and the metastases appeared following craniotomy. In the first patient, metastases to cervical lymph nodes developed one year after surgery, and, despite adjuvant therapy, recurred in the same location several times. Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of the cervical lymph node prior to neck dissection suggested a possible metastatic primitive neuroepithelial tumor. In the second case, metastases to the sacrum and femur developed after surgery for a recurrent anaplastic oligoastrocytoma. Our two cases reconfirm a rare but definite ability not only of glioblastoma but also of anaplastic oligodendroglioma, namely to metastasize to extraneural sites. It is important to bear this in mind, particularly in cases when the history of primary brain tumor is unavailable. In such instances, the correct diagnosis of the metastatic lesion may be extremely difficult if not impossible.
Descriptors     OLIGODENDROGLIOMA
ASTROCYTOMA
NEOPLASM METASTASIS
BONE NEOPLASMS
LYMPHATIC METASTASIS
CRANIOTOMY