title: Ascending central nervous spreading of a spinal astrocytoma.
abstract: A 43-year-old man died from the complications of astrocytoma metastasis. He first noticed symptoms of a lumbar disc prolapse in 1979. In 1987 a pilocytic astrocytoma (grade I) of the spinal cauda was removed. In 1989 a tumor recidivation at the same site was partially removed. Histology showed a grade II astrocytoma. Two months later the patient developed symptoms of increased intracerebral pressure. CSF cytology showed polymorphic giant tumor cells with hyperchromatic nuclei and a glioblastoma of the cerebral ventricles was diagnosed. The patient died from cardiovascular complications. The post-mortem investigation revealed an astrocytoma of the conus medullaris with an anaplastic ventral area (grade IV). This area was inaccessible to the biopsy. It is believed that tumor metastases from anaplastic parts spread along the spinal cord and brainstem and finally invaded the brain and cerebral ventricles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Claus
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sieber
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Engelhardt
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rechlin
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Neubauer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Volk
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000556:secondary*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000556:secondary*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed