Malignant glioma of the cerebrum presenting with a lumbar radiculopathy believed due to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) spread

The case of a male aged 21 years is being presented. He first sought medical attention for pain in the left thigh found on the basis of neurological assessment to be the result of an L3 radiculopathy. Two lumbar computed tomography (CT) scans were negative. He went on to develop headaches which progressively worsened ultimately resulting in his admission to hospital when a CT scan and a subsequently magnetic resonance imaging scan showed the presence of deep right parietal and posterior thalamic tumour, which on stereotactic biopsy was consistent with an astrocytoma grade IV by the Daumas-Duport system. Subsequent repeat investigations and CSF analysis obtained at ventricular peritoneal shunting confirmed the presence of malignant cells of a glial nature in the spinal fluid. It is therefore believed that there was spread to the lumbar subarachnoid space particularly involving the L3 nerve root, resulting in his radiculopathy. A brief review of the literature concerning CSF spread of malignant gliomas will be presented.(AU)

Tumours of the central nervous system: analysis of 476 cases observed at the University Hospital of the West Indies

A statistical survey of the incidence, age and sex distribution, and preferential sites of occurrence of tumours of the central nervous system observed at the University Hospital of the West Indies during a 15-year period is presented. Four hundred and seventy-six histologically confirmed neoplasms were recorded. Intracranial tumours were 7 times as common as those of the spinal cord. Of 416 intracranial neoplasms, there were 40 percent neuropithelial tumours, 21 percent meningiomas, 15 percent pituitary adenomas, 9 percent metastatic lesions, 6 percent congenital tumours, 5 percent vasoformative tumours, 3 percent nerve sheath tumours and 1 percent unclassified neoplasms. Men and women were equally affected. Meningiomas and pituitary adenomas were more frequent than in other reported series. Metastases were relatively more frequent in the spinal than in the intracranial group. Of the primary spinal tumours, those of nerve sheath origin were nearly three times as common as the meningiomas (AU)

Gliomatous teratoma of the tongue: report of a case

A tumor measuring 21/2 x 1 x 1 cm in the tongue of a 6 week-old child and present from birth proved historically to be a teratoma with pre-dominantly glial tissue. The authors have found only one similar case described previously (AU)