Gliosarcoma metastatic to the cervical spinal cord: Case report and reviewof the literature

BACKGROUND We describe a case of an intramedullary metastasis to the cervical spinal c ord from a temporal gliosarcoma. CASE DESCRIPTION A 48-year-old man with known temporal lobe gliosarcoma presented with a new onset of ipsilateral hemiparesis. A MRI scan revealed the presence of an i ntramedullary lesion in the spinal cord behind the body of C2. Despite repe ated craniotomy, radiation, and chemotherapy, the patient succumbed to a ra pidly progressive disease. CONCLUSION The case illustrates the ability of gliosarcoma to metastasize to other loc ations in the neuroaxis. We believe this to be the first case report of an intramedullary spinal cord metastasis from a gliosarcoma. The pathological features and available literature are reviewed. (C) 2000 by Elsevier Scienc e Inc.