Cerebellar Haemangioblastoma: A Case Report

Abstract

Haemangioblastomas are benign, highly vascular tumours containing neoplastic stromal cells with characteristic immunohistochemical features. They are slow-growing tumours with a solid or cystic pattern of unknown origin and are classified as Grade-I benign tumours. They mostly arise in the cerebellum, medulla and spinal cord and are histologically similar to the vascular lesions in the retina. Haemangioblastomas are the most frequent manifestations of an autosomal-dominant inherited syndrome, von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease but can also occur as sporadic non hereditary tumours. Hereby, the current case report is on a 53-year-old male who presented to the tertiary care hospital with a persistent headache for six weeks. Based on just the clinical history and examination, the patient was given a probable diagnosis of either cerebellar haemangioblastoma or cerebellar tumour. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was performed, which suggested that the lesion could be a glioma or metastatic deposits from a different tumour. In view of these differentials, the patient underwent tumour excision and decompression via suboccipital craniectomy, and an extraventricular drainage was placed for ease of Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) drainage. With the help of histopathological diagnosis, the patient was diagnosed with an apparent sporadic type of cerebellar haemangioblastoma, but this can be confirmed only after detailed genetic screening.