Multiple metastases from a meningeal hemangiopericytoma associated with severe hypoglycemia

Abstract

Hemangiopericytomas are rare vascular tumors that may be associated with profound hypoglycemia. We present correlative imaging findings for a 57-year-old woman who had multiple abdominal and muscular metastases with severe hypoglycemia 11 years after resection of meningeal hemangiopericytoma. The metastases were well-defined masses containing solid and cystic components, and they were extremely hypervascular in the solid component. Those characteristics on imaging associated with hypoglycemia and the past history of meningeal hemangiopericytoma may suggest the diagnosis and be helpful in differentiating the mass from other vascular tumors. Color and power Doppler ultrasound may play a valuable role in characterizing and diagnosing metastasis from hemangiopericytoma. A delay of several years between diagnosis of the primary hemangiopericytoma and the manifestation of metastasis appears to be a special feature of hemangiopericytoma.