Highlights
- •Intracranial germ cell tumors mostly arise from the pineal and neurohypophyseal regions.
- •Ectopic germinomas are usually synchronous and very rarely metachronous.
- •Ectopic germinomas are often heterogeneous on imaging and cyst formation is common.
Abstract
Intracranial ectopic germinomas are often associated with synchronous midline disease.
Germinomas involving the corpus callosum are exceedingly rare. The reported imaging
appearance is not as varied as one might expect and a review of the literature reveals
a few common imaging features amongst most ectopic lesions, including cyst formation.
We report a 24-year-old man with panhypopituitarism. Neuroimaging revealed three enhancing
lesions involving the pituitary infundibulum, the pineal region, and a parenchymal
lesion involving the genu of the corpus callosum. The described ectopic mass, a parenchymal
lesion, was associated with small peripheral cysts. Stereotactic biopsy and histopathological
evaluation revealed this mass to be a germinoma. Following chemotherapy and radiation
therapy, there was near-total resolution of the intracranial disease. Preoperative
imaging plays an important role, not only in delineating the extent of disease, but
also in assisting in generating an appropriate differential diagnosis. Germinomas
in the corpus callosum are exceedingly rare but should be considered in the differential
of any young patient with a characteristic cystic and solid intra-axial mass.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 02, 2016
Accepted:
February 13,
2016
Received:
February 5,
2016
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
