Fraioli MF, Pagano A, Iacquinandi A, Fraioli B and Lunardi P
Background: Spinal cord metastasis is an uncommon event in glioblastoma, symptomatic lesions are very rare, and this occurrence in anaplastic oligodendroglioma is exceptional. Only 16 cases of symptomatic spinal cord metastasis from brain oligodendroglioma have been reported in the literature.
Case report: We present the case of a 42 years old woman with multiple symptomatic spinal cord metastasis discovered one year after surgical removal and postoperative radiotherapy for a right fronto-temporal anaplastic oligodendroglioma (grade III WHO).
Conclusion: Although spinal cord metastasis from brain anaplastic oligodendroglioma is very rare, in our opinion it could be useful to perform screening spine MRIs to early detect the eventual diffusion of the oncologic disease. Differently, spinal MRI should be mandatory in all patients in whom an eventual reoperation could be proposed, because the detection of spinal localizations indicates a rapid poor prognosis and an eventual reoperation could be useless in terms of prolonged survival time.
