title: Giant cystic intradural extramedullary pilocytic astrocytoma of Cauda equina.
abstract: Astrocytomas of Conus-Cauda equina region are rare. Astrocytomas, which are intramedullary tumors, may rarely have an extramedullary component. However, primary intradural extramedullary astrocytomas are extremely rare, with very few cases reported in the literature. We describe a giant extramedullary pilocytic astrocytoma of Cauda equina in a 20-year-old male. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of such a case in the available literature. This case highlights the fact that astrocytomas can be primarily extramedullary and emphasizes the need to consider pilocytic astrocytoma in the differential diagnosis of cystic Cauda equina tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Amandeep
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garg
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Bhawani S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Shashank S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kale
keywords: Cauda equina; extramedullary; giant; pilocytic astrocytoma