title: Dural cavernous hemangioma: an under-recognized lesion mimicking meningioma.
abstract: We report a 77-year-old woman who presented with partial seizures and was found to have an enhancing dural-based parietal convexity mass. The lesion enlarged on serial examination by computed tomography (CT) over a one year period. The clinical features and radiologic appearance were compatible with a pre-operative diagnosis of meningioma; however, pathologic findings were typical of a dural cavernous hemangioma. Accumulating evidence suggests that these lesions are an uncommon but distinct type of vascular malformation most often arising from the cavernous sinus, tentorium, or cerebello-pontine angle. With CT, magnetic resonance imaging and angiography, these lesions can closely resemble meningioma in terms of signal characteristics, enhancement pattern, and location. This is of importance both in the practical management of meningiomas where the diagnosis is often based on radiologic studies alone, and in clinical trials where incorrect entry diagnosis should be avoided.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chui
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bilbao
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004388:Dura Mater / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006392:Hemangioma, Cavernous / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008577:Meningeal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008579:Meningioma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed