Ganglioglioma of conus medullaris

Abstract

Gangliogliomas are glioneuronal tumours of the young, and occur more frequently supratentorially. Among those uncommon cases in the spinal cord, the conus medullaris is an extremely rare site. We reviewed the literature of such cases and report another case of a ganglioglioma of the conus in a 13-year-old boy with an insidious sensory sensitive and motor deficit of the right lower limb. Subtotal resection was accomplished with no recurrence after two years of follow-up. As for the supratentorial locations, the extent of surgical resection is the main prognostic factor for gangliogliomas of the spinal cord, and they should be considered in the differential diagnosis of intramedullar neoplasm.

Ganglioglioma of the Thoracolumbar Spinal Cord in a Patient with Neurofibromatosis Type 1: A Case Report and Literature Review

“…Gangliogliomas of the spinal cord are rare, and only approximately 100 such cases have been described in the literature [8,10]. They tend to occur more frequently in the young, and most frequently in the cervical or thoracic regions.…”

“…They tend to occur more frequently in the young, and most frequently in the cervical or thoracic regions. The conus medullaris is an extremely rare site of occurrence for gangliogliomas, and only 11 such cases have been reported [8]. Patients tend to become symptomatic with progressive myelopathy, and neurological findings reveal the existence and site of tumor.…”

“…The first line of treatment is surgical resection of the tumor, and gross total removal is the main factor that determines the prognosis of gangliogliomas in the spinal cord. However, subtotal resection is performed in some cases, without a clear cleavage between the tumor and spinal cord [8,9,10]. …”

“…Gangliogliomas are most frequently found in the supratentorial region, especially in the temporal lobes, of children and young adults. They are rarely found in the spinal cord, and are extremely rare in the conus medullaris [8,9,10]. …”

Ganglioglioma of the Spinal Cord in Neurofibromatosis Type 1

“…They are rarely diagnosed in the spinal cord, where they account for the 1% of all spinal cord tumors that are mainly located in the cervicothoracic region [6,7]. …”