title: Hemangiopericytoma invading the craniovertebral junction: First reported case and review of the literature.
abstract: Occurrence of hemangiopericytoma (HPC) in the central nervous system is rare. Spinal HPCs with intramedullary involvement are even more unusual. We present a case of a craniovertebral intradural HPC with both extra- and intra-medullary extensions. Though the patient presented with vague cervical symptoms, imaging was indicative of an intradural lesion from the occiput to C4 and a second smaller, subclinical lesion, at the T2-3 level. He underwent gross total surgical resection of the craniovertebral lesion and did well post-operatively. The thoracic lesion was treated with radiosurgery and the patient is neurologically at baseline 5 years later. Gross total resection of HPCs is the recommended treatment when possible. Histopathology is crucial for diagnosis due to both its rarity and similar characteristics to other tumors on physical and radiographic evaluations. Recognizing that these uncommon tumors can occur with both extra-medullary and intra-medullarly locations are important for diagnosis and treatment recommendations. Future studies using national surgical databases that contain histology will be needed to understand the long-term clinical outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Spine Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Doniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Drazin
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Spine Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Faris
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shweikeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Spine Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Serguei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bannykh
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Spine Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: J Patrick
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Johnson
keywords: Cervical; extramedullary; hemangiopericytoma; intradural; spinal