Primary endodermal sinus tumor of the cerebellar hemisphere: a case report with review of the literature

Abstract

Primary intracranial endodermal sinus tumors, which have been regarded as a rare histologic subtype, usually arise in the pineal and suprasellar regions and are often associated with components of other germ cell tumors. We report an extremely rare case of pure primary endodermal sinus tumor found in the cerebellar hemisphere. A 3-year-old boy was admitted to our institution because of gait disturbance, vomiting and deteriorated mental state. MR imaging revealed the presence of a round mass with heterogeneous enhancement in the left cerebellar hemisphere. Radical surgical removal of the tumor was performed, followed by adjuvant chemotherapy, consisting of etoposide, carboplatin and bleomycin. The patient has since attended regular follow-ups, without any neurological deficit or signs of recurrence in the 4 years since diagnosis.