Ancient schwannomas (AS) are exceedingly rare variant of common schwannomas (CS). Only two cases involving the cauda equina region have been previously reported in literature. AS are typically associated with a higher histological degree of degenerative changes (Antoni B areas). It is of peculiar importance, according to our opinion, to outline that, because of their extremely slow growth (which explains the increase of the degenerative changes in respect to the CS) and their typical soft consistency in respect to their standard counterparts, AS usually imply an even better prognosis.

We report on a very rare case of dorsal intramedullary melanocytoma in a 62-year-old man. The tumor was resected and gross total removal was achieved. During a 2-year follow-up period in which no radiotherapy was given, the tumor did not recur. We review the literature on these tumors and present disease criteria to distinguish melanocytoma from primary malignant melanoma. Patients and investigators should be cautioned that an intramedullary melanocytoma may recur and give rise to metastatic spread via the cerebrospinal fluid.

Chromosome 10 deletions are among the most common genetic changes in highly malignant glial tumors. It has been noted that loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 10q23 is a frequent alteration in a variety of human tumors and occurs in approximately 70% of all glioblastomas. By mapping of homozygous deletions on 10q23, a candidate tumor suppressor gene has been isolated, called PTEN for "phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10" and MMAC1 for "mutated in multiple advanced cancers-1." Mutations of this tumor suppressor gene PTEN/MMAC1 have been reported in anaplastic glial tumors. The objective of this paper was to individuate a prognostic marker in exons 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the PTEN/MMAC1 gene for the high-grade malignant glioma with the most aggressive clinical behavior. In this study, we undertook sequence analysis of these exons in six selected patients with high-grade malignant gliomas who underwent radical aggressive tumor resection followed by radiotherapy within 3 weeks after surgery and subsequent chemotherapy. In them, the exon 5 sequence of the PTEN/MMAC1 gene is suggestive of a genetic survival marker in gliomas with high-grade malignancy.

The effectiveness of the various treatments for cervical spine degenerative disorders is influenced by the overall anatomical conditions of the cervical spine. Up until now there has been no objective criterion for the evaluation of these anatomical conditions. We believe that this scale will be a useful tool to homogenize retrospective studies and to correctly set up prospective studies on the degenerative conditions of the cervical spine and relative treatments.

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