Secondary tumor formation after stereotactic biopsy for intracerebral metastatic disease

BACKGROUND There are only a few published cases of iatrogenic tumor seeding and distan t neoplastic growth along the path of the cannula after stereotactic biopsy . CASE DESCRIPTION We report the case of a female patient with a solitary lung cancer metastas is in the left parietal brain lobe. The tumor was stereotactically biopsied and treated by radiosurgery. One month after the initial biopsy, a smaller de novo tumor mass located along the track of the stereotactic cannula was detected by contrast-enhanced MRI. The spatial location of this neoplastic nodule and the short time before development of a macroscopic lesion seeme d to confirm iatrogenic tumor cell spread due to the stereotactic procedure . CONCLUSION Our findings and the reviewed literature suggest that this complication is rare. Nevertheless, neurosurgeons should be aware of the potential risk and , if necessary, should be able tu modify the technical procedure acid the a djuvant treatment. (C) 2001 by Elsevier Science Inc.