Intracranial schwannoma presenting as a subfrontal tumor: case report.
OBJECTIVE
Intracerebral schwannomas not associated with cranial nerves account for less than 1% of surgically treated schwannomas of the central and peripheral nervous system. Subfrontal schwannomas are extremely rare, with only 15 cases reported to date.


METHODS
A 33-year-old man presented with a 4-month history of progressive headaches and lethargy. Radiographic studies revealed a large subfrontal tumor thought to be a meningioma preoperatively.


METHODS
The patient underwent a craniotomy for resection of his tumor. Intraoperatively, a large extra-axial tumor arising from the floor of the left frontal fossa was encountered.


CONCLUSIONS
Microscopic examination of the tumor revealed a schwannoma. Several theories on the possible origin of intracerebral schwannomas have been considered. Because of the age of the patient at presentation, many authors have postulated a developmental origin for these lesions. However, extra-axial schwannomas not associated with cranial nerves often present later in life, suggesting a different pathogenesis for this subgroup.
Huang
P P
PP
Department of Neurosurgery, New York University Medical Center, New York, USA.
Zagzag
D
D
Benjamin
V
V
D000328:Adult; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
D009418:S100 Proteins