title: Possible involvement of interferon beta in post-operative vasculitis restricted to the tumour bed: a case report.
abstract: Cerebral vasculitis is a very rare complication after brain tumour surgery. We herein report a case and discuss the origins of this complication. A 52-year-old female was admitted because of motor aphasia due to a left frontal lobe brain tumour. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study revealed a non-enhanced tumour. A partial resection of the tumour and the placement of an Ommaya's reservoir were performed. The pathological diagnosis was an oligoastrocytoma. The patient recovered well without any neurological deficits. Post-operative radiotherapy and the intravenous injection of interferon beta were performed. During these treatments, the patient showed a continued high fever. An MRI scan revealed multiple enhanced lesions in the residual tumour, thus raising suspicions about a post-operative infection. We therefore performed a tumour biopsy and the removal of the exogenous materials. The histopathological diagnosis was vasculitis in the residual tumour. The patient's consciousness and neurological symptoms recovered quickly with the steroid treatment. Following the radiotherapy (50 Gy total), complete remission of the tumour was rapidly obtained and no recurrence was observed. Cerebral vasculitis confined to the tumour bed is an unusual complication; however, this special condition was of critical importance for a successful tumour regression in this patient.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Oita University, 1-1 Idaigaoka, Hasama, Yufu, Oita 879-5593, Japan. abet@med.oita-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tatsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sugita
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morishige
authors.forename: Kouhei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohnishi
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kamida
authors.forename: Takamitsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hikawa
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujiki
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kashima
authors.forename: Shigeo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001254:Astrocytoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D018365:Neoplasm, Residual / Q000473:pathology*; D020293:Vasculitis, Central Nervous System / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D016899:Interferon-beta