De novo Spinal Teratoma after Treatment of an Intracranial Germ Cell Tumor

Abstract

The authors report an extremely rare case of de novo spinal teratoma after treatment for intracranial germ cell tumor. A 17-year-old male developed pain of bilateral lower extremities and urinary retention 18 months after complete remission of intracranial mixed germ cell tumor. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a huge spinal tumor associated with spina bifida occulta. Total resection was performed, and histogenetical findings led to the diagnosis of a mature teratoma with normal p16 gene, whereas analysis of intracranial tumor showed p16 deletion. The spinal anomaly and genetic analysis strongly suggest that the spinal teratoma was a de novo tumor rather than a metastasis or dissemination of the original intracranial germ cell tumor.