title: Primary myxopapillary ependymoma of the fourth ventricle with cartilaginous metaplasia: a case report and review of the literature.
abstract: Myxopapillary ependymoma (MPE), which is a benign histological subtype of ependymoma, is found predominantly in the cauda equina region. It occurs rarely in the brain and mostly as a metastatic deposit from a spinal lesion. The occurrence of primary intracranial MPE is exceptional, with only 11 cases reported to date. We report an additional case of intracranial MPE, which is the third reported case in the fourth ventricle. The tumor manifested in a 50-year-old lady, who presented with features of raised intracranial pressure. A gross total resection of the tumor was achieved. Histologically, the tumor had characteristic features of MPE with focal metaplastic cartilaginous deposit. On further evaluation, there was no evidence of a primary tumor in the spinal cord. Intracranial MPE needs further evaluation by craniospinal MRI to exclude an unrecognized primary in the spinal region, which could warrant surgical attention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropathology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Hosur Road, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560 029, India. drshrijeetchak@gmail.com
authors.forename: Shrijeet
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chakraborti
authors.forename: Aparna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Govindan
authors.forename: Jacob P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Alapatt
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Radhakrishnan
authors.forename: Vani
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Santosh
mesh_terms: D002356:Cartilage / Q000473:pathology*; D002551:Cerebral Ventricle Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D004806:Ependymoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D020546:Fourth Ventricle / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008679:Metaplasia / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged