Recurrent intracranial Masson's vegetant intravascular hemangioendothelioma - Case report and review of the literature

In the central nervous system, recurrence of intracranial Masson's vegetant intravascular hemangioendothelioma (MVIH) is rare. To the authors' knowled ge, only three recurrent intracranial cases have been reported. The authors report the case of a 75-year-old woman with a recurrent left-si ded cerebellopontine angle and middle cranial fossa MVIH. When the patient was 62 years of age, she underwent preoperative embolization and subtotal r esection of the intracranial lesion followed by postoperative radiotherapy. She was well and free from disease until 9 years postoperatively when she became symptomatic. At 71 years of age, the patient again underwent preoper ative embolization and near-gross-total resection of the lesion. Follow-up imaging performed 15 months later revealed tumor recurrence, and she underw ent stereotactic gamma knife radiosurgery. At a 2.75-year follow-up review, the patient's imaging studies revealed stable residual tumor. This case report is unique in that it documents the clinical and pathologic al features, surgical and postoperative treatment, and long-term follow-up review of a patient with recurrent intracranial MVIH and suggests that this unusual vascular lesion is a slow-growing benign tumor rather than a react ive process. Because the pathological composition of the lesion may resembl e an angiosarcoma understanding this benign vascular neoplasm is crucial so that an erroneous diagnosis of malignancy is not made and unnecessary adju vant therapy is not given.