title: Primary melanoma of the cauda equina: Case report and review of the literature.
abstract: The authors report the case of an 82 year-old woman with a primary malignant melanoma of the cauda equina resembling lumbar schwannoma in the MRI study. Melanocytic neoplasms are very rare but they should be included in the differential diagnosis of lesions involving the spinal nerves. The treatment of choice for these lesions is complete resection followed by radiotherapy. The outcomes reported in the literature are variable and are associated with the age of presentation, histopathological findings, extent of surgical resection and absence of metastatic lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cicuendez
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Paredes
authors.forename: Pablo M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Munarriz
authors.forename: Amaya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hilario
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cabello
authors.forename: Alfonso
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lagares
mesh_terms: D002420:Cauda Equina; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008545:Melanoma; D009442:Neurilemmoma; D010524:Peripheral Nervous System Neoplasms