CERVICAL INTRAMEDULLARY GLIOBLASTOMA WITH INTRACRANIAL DISSEMINATION: DESCRIPTION OF A RAPIDLY PROGRESSING CASE AND A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

We present a case of a 65-year-old female with glioblastoma of the spinal cord, which disseminated to an intracranial lesion. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed diffuse swelling at levels C1 to 4, which was pathologically consistent with glioblastoma, and right side pontine parenchyma mass. The patient died after seven weeks of hospitalization. The confirmed diagnosis of glioblastomas was obtained as a result of autopsy. Spinal glioblastomas are rare lesions of the central nervous system with a prognosis as poor as that of their intracranial counterpart. There have been only nine reports in English since 1990, including this case in Japan.