Neoplasms Flashcards
A 65 year-old man presented with headaches and confusion.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) = Grade IV astrocytoma
Tumors of CNS have 4 symptoms:
- Progressive, focal neurological deficits
- Headache - worse lying down, associated with nausea/vomiting
- Seizures
- Gradual cognitive slowing and personality changes
GBM
- Most common and most lethal type of astrocytoma
- Always in cerebral hemispheres
- Histology - necrosis, vascular proliferation, pleomorphic cells
- Imaging - enhancing mass with nonenhancing necrosis
Tumors of anterior frontal lobe present with…
- Weakness of contralateral leg
- Personality changes - disinhibition, poor judgment, cognitive slowing
- Urinary incontinence
- Gaze towards lesion
- Seizures

Tumors of the posterior frontal lobe present with…
- Contralateral weakness
- Expressive aphasia (left-sided lesion)
- Neglect (right-sided lesion)

TUmors oft he temporal lobe present with…
- Memory impairment
- Receptive aphasia (left-sided)
- Neglect (right-sided)
- Contralateral superior quadrantanopsia
- Seizures

Tumors of occipital lobe present with…
- Contralateral homonymous hemianopsia
- Visual hallucinations
- Alexia without agraphia (left-sided)
- Seizures

Tumors of the thalamus present with…
- Contralateral sensory loss
- Aphasia (left-sided mass)

A 50 year-old healthy man developed cognitive slowing.

Gliomatatosis cerebri - multicentric gliomas
- Malignant glioma characterized by extensive tumor infiltration without a discrete mass or areas of necrosis
- Indistinguishable from metastatic disease or demyelination
- Imaging
- Small areas of enhancement
- Signs
- Headache, seizure, personality change, dementia, weakness
- Epidemiology
- Younger than 40
- Treatment
- Whole-brain radiation and chemotherapy

39 year-old woman with right- sided weakness and left 6th nerve palsy.

Brainstem glioma
- Signs
- Headache and hydrocephalus
- Ipsilateral CN deficits
- Contralateral sensory and motor deficits
- Surgery does not work!
A 49 year-old man presents with a seizure.
MRI:
- At diagnosis
- 2 weeks later
- 1 year later

- Glioma
- Post-surgery
- Post-radiation
Low-grade gliomas:
-
Grade I astrocytoma
- Surgery is curative
-
Grade II astrocytoma
- Surgery is often not curative
- Radiation or chemotherapy needed
Radiation necrosis:
- Edema = hyperintensity on FLAIR
A 7 year-old child developed progressive headaches and ataxia.

Juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma (JPA)
-
Astrocytomas are the most common type of intracranial neoplasms in children and young adults
- 75% are JPAs
JPA
- Benign grade I tumors typically in cerebellar hemisphere
- Associated with neurofibromatosis type I
- Signs
- Headache, ataxia, increased ICP
- Surgery is curative
- Imaging
- Well-circumscribed lesions
- Large cystic component with enhancing mural nodule
- DDx
- Hemangioblastoma
A 12 year-old child presented with seizures.

Ganglioglioma
- Slow-growing tumors most commonly in children and young adults
- Glial + neural elements
- Can become malignant
- Common in temporal > frontal, parietal, occipital
- Near hypothalamus and infratentorial
- Signs
- Seizures
- Imaging
- Cystic tumors with or without solid component
-
Calcifications common on CT
- Differentiates from JPA and pleomorphic xanthrocytomas
A 45 year-old man developed headaches. The following lesions was seen and was stable for many years.

Subependymoma
- Benign, slow growing neoplasm
- Found in 4th ventricle - do not invade brain or cerebellum
- Symptoms
- If they obstruct ventricular system - increased ICP symptoms
A 45 year-old man developed personality changes and weakness in his legs.

Meningioma (of the falx)
- Benign, slow-growing tumors
-
Most common benign neoplasm
- 2nd most common neoplasm overall (#1 = glioma)
- Arise from arachnoid and attach to the dura and rarely invade the brain
- Involved in neurofibromatosis type II
- Risk factor = prior irradiation
Treatment
- Asymptomatic lesions can be followed
-
Surgical resection with preoperative embolization
- 25% recur
- Malignant meningiomas have higher recurrence rate (80%) and require radiation
-
Stereotactic radiosurgery for unresectable lesions
- Tumors of cavernous sinus are hard to resect
A 36 year-old man presented with seizures and a dull headache.

Calcified meningioma (of sphenoid wing)
- 25% of meningiomas are calcified on CT
A 5 year-old presented with with headaches and restricted upgaze.

Pinealcytoma
- Pineal tumors present with:
- Vertical gaze palsy (when the affect midbrain)
- Circadian rhythm disturbance
- Hydrocephalus and headache if ventricular obstruction
- Types of tumors:
-
Pinealomas (20%)
-
Pineoblastomas = type of PNET
- Children
- 5-year survival = 50%
- Subarachnoid space
- Surgery and radiation
-
Pinealcytomas
- Adults
- 5-year survival = 90%
- Surgery alone
-
Pineoblastomas = type of PNET
-
Germ cell
-
Germinomas (40%)
- Frequently in suprasellar region
- M > F, Asians
- Chemotherapy and radiation
- Elevated hCG + AlkP
- Teratomas
- Embryonal carcinomas
- Choriocarcinomas
-
Germinomas (40%)
-
Pinealomas (20%)
A 64 year-old woman presented with a headache. On exam, she had an ataxic gait and some limitations in upwards gaze.

Meningioma (of tentorium cerebelli)
A 57 year- old man presented with a seizure.

Meningioma
- Enhance with contrast on MRI
- Edema = more aggressive
- 25% calcified on CT
-
Dural tail
- Enhancement of meninges flanking bulk of tumor
-
Hyperostosis
- Remodeling of bone seceondary to bone invasion
- (Red arrows)
-
Cystic
- Some meningiomas can be cystic

45 year-old female presented with a seizure and was found to have a mass which recurred after several operations.

Meningioma (atypical)
- Most meningiomas are WHO Grade I tumors
- Atypical meningiomas are WHO Grade II tumors
- Anaplastic meningiomas are WHO Grade III tumors
A 56 year old man presented with seizures.

Meningioma
- Most meningiomas uniformly enhance with contrast
- Dural tail (red arrows)

A 36 year-old healthy female developed left-sided weakness and numbness.

Primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL)
- Most common intracranial neoplasm in HIV+
- Subcortical lesion
- May spread via CSF to eyes and bones
- Imaging
- Hyperintense with contrast on T1WI
- Hyperintense on DWI
- Treatment
- Treatment with steroids will shrink tumor and prevent enhancement
-
Chemotherapy and radiation
- Surgery doesn’t work!
3 separate patients with seizures and headaches.

Metastatic lesions
- 20% of cancer patients will develop brain mets
- Lung > breast > melanoma, renal cell carcinoma
- Mostly found at gray-white junction - blood flow is slow
- Treatment
- Steroids reduce edema and improve symptoms
- Whole brain radiation
A 65 year-old female developed headaches and ataxia.

Metastasis
- In children, 2/3 of tumors are infratentorial
- In adults, 2/3 of tumors are supratentorial
- Tumors in the cerebellum are likely metastatic!
A 44 year-old man presented with a seizure.

Oligodendroglioma
- Likely to show calcification on CT
- Less enhancement on T1WI compared to gliomas
A 73 year-old female presented with mild cognitive dysfunction.

Arachnoid cyst
-
Benign sacs filled with CSF located between arachnoid and brain
- Congenital abnormality - failure of arachnoid membrane to fuse, allowing CSF to flow into the cleft
- Most common in middle cranial fossa outside of temporal lobe
- Imaging
- Follows CSF on all sequences!
- Treatment
- Microneurosurgical drainage
45 y/o M with hearing loss.

Vestibular schwannoma
- Most lesions in cerebellopontine angle are either schwannomas or meningiomas
- Arise from Schwanna cells (myelination)
- Can arise from any CN (except CN I-II)
- Benign, slow-growing
- Bilateral vestibular schwannomas associated with neurofibromatosis type II
- Treatment
- Surgery to prevent heraing loss
- Can cause damage to CN VII = facial paralysis
- Surgery to prevent heraing loss
A 56 year-old man noticed he wasunable to feel his face while shaving.

CN V schwannoma
- Most common schwannoma = CN VIII
- Second most common schwannoma = CN V
A 37 year-old woman presented with blurry vision.

Pituitary adenoma
-
Benign, slow-growing trumors from anterior pituitary
- Microadenoma < 10mm
- Macroadenoma > 10mm
-
Most are not hormonally active
- Mass effect on brain structures
- Headache, CN deficits, personality changes
-
Panhypopituitarism if compression of pituitary stalk
- Lethargy, growth failure, DI, hypogonadism, hypoadrenalism
- Mass effect on brain structures
- MRI enhanced
- Diagnosis
- Prolactin, TSH, 24-hr cortisol, FSH, LH
- Treatment
- Surgery is curative
- Bromocriptine for prolactinomas
- Somatostatin analogue for GH or TSH tumors
63 y/o F with visual disturbances, sudden severe headache.

Pituitary apoplexy = Sheehan’s syndrome
- When there is acute hemorrhage
- Can occur with bleeding adenoma
- Signs
- Sudden headache, visual loss, opthalmoplegia
- Treatment
- Steroids
-
Neuro emergency since patients can die from subarachnoid hemorrhage
- Visual change or loss of consciousness
A 20 year-old man developed gradual, but severe visual loss and failed to develop secondary sexual characteristics.

Craniopharyngioma
- Slow-growing, cystic tumors from pituitary stalk
- Children and young adults
- Signs
- Visual disturbances due to compression of chiasm
- Endocrine dysfunction due to compression of pituitary or hypothalamus
- Increased ICP
- MRI
- Cyst is bright on T2WI
- Ring-enhancing with contrast on T1WI
- Calcified on CT
- Treatment
- Surgery + postop radiation (prevent recurrence)
A 45 year-old woman presented with a bitemporal hemianopsia.

Meningioma (of tuberculum sellae)
- Signs
- Bitemporal hemianopsia due to compression of optic chiasm
- Endocrine dysfunction due to compression of pituitary stalk