title: Intramedullary Spinal Cord Germinoma: A Case Report and Review of Literature.
abstract: Primary spinal cord germinomas are an extremely rare group of tumors, most commonly reported as single cases in young Japanese adults. They usually present as intramedullary lesions located in the thoracic and thoracolumbar spine. The importance of preoperative diagnosis lies in the fact that by using radiotherapy and chemotherapy, even without surgery, a good cure rate can be achieved in patients with spinal cord germinoma. These tumors, however, demonstrate unspecific imaging characteristics, and only some secrete tumor markers. Therefore, a diagnosis of these lesions before biopsy or resection with pathohistologic examination can be difficult. We present a case of a 28-year-old white man with intramedullary spinal cord germinoma. The tumor was resected completely with electrophysiological monitoring, without a biopsy and frozen section analysis. Postoperative radiotherapy also was part of the treatment. The patient has had no relapse 4.5 years after diagnosis; however, significant neurologic deficits remain. Although not as frequent in white patients, germinoma should be considered as differential diagnosis in cases of young adult patients with intramedullary tumor in the thoracic or thoracolumbar spine. Therefore, spinal mass surgery should commence with a biopsy and intraoperative frozen section analysis. In this way, attempting a gross total resection becomes unnecessary. With an approach of intraoperative biopsy and frozen section analysis, a considerable amount of postoperative neurologic deficits can be reduced.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia; Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Clinic for Radiation Oncology, Belgrade, Serbia. Electronic address: marina.nikitovic@ncrc.ac.rs.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nikitović
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia; Clinic of Neurosurgery, Clinical Centre of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Danica
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grujičić
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia; Institute of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Milica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Skender Gazibara
authors.affiliation: Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Clinic for Radiation Oncology, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Dragana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stanić
authors.affiliation: Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Clinic for Radiation Oncology, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bokun
authors.affiliation: Institute for Oncology and Radiology of Serbia, Clinic for Radiation Oncology, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Milan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sarić
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019299:Decompression, Surgical; D018237:Germinoma / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007796:Laminectomy; D008297:Male; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures; D020335:Paraparesis / Q000209:etiology; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: Germinoma; Intramedullary; Spinal cord