Spinal intramedullary schwannomas\u2014report of a case and extensive review of the literature

V M Swiatek,I E Sandalcioglu,K-P Stein,C Mawrin,A Rashidi,B Neyazi,H B Cukaz,M Skalej

doi:10.1007/s10143-020-01357-5

V M Swiatek, I E Sandalcioglu + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10143-020-01357-5

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Journal: Neurosurgical review	Publication Date: Sep 15, 2020
Citations: 11	License type: open-access

Affiliation: Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg

Abstract

Intramedullary schwannomas (IMS) represent exceptional rare pathologies. They commonly present as solitary lesions; only five cases of multiple IMS have been described so far. Here, we report the sixth case of a woman with multiple IMS. Additionally, we performed the first complete systematic review of the literature for all cases reporting IMS. We performed a systematic review of the literature in PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled (CENTRAL) to retrieve all relevant studies and case reports on IMS. In a second step, we analysed all reported studies with respect to additional cases, which were not identified through the database search. Studies published in other languages than English were included. One hundred nineteen studies including 165 reported cases were included. In only five cases, the patients harboured more than one IMS. Gender ratio showed a ratio of nearly 3:2 (male:female); mean age of disease presentation was 40.2 years; 11 patients suffered from neurofibromatosis (NF) type 1 or 2 (6.6%). IMS are rare. Our first systematic review on this pathology revealed 166 cases, including the here reported case of multiple IMS. Our review offers a basis for further investigation on this disease.

Highlights

Within the group of central nervous system tumours, spinal tumours represent a minor fraction of 15% of all cases [1]
Combining the Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and the neurological examination, we considered a preliminary diagnosis of intramedullary ependymoma
We performed a systematic review of the literature in PubMed, EMBASE and CENTRAL up to January 1, 2020, to retrieve all relevant studies and case reports on intramedullary schwannomas (IMS)

Summary

Introduction

Within the group of central nervous system tumours, spinal tumours represent a minor fraction of 15% of all cases [1]. Spinal schwannomas represent about 10% of all spinal tumours [1]. Schwannomas occur most frequently within the intradural-extramedullary compartment [1]. The intramedullary location of schwannomas is a rare condition (0.3–1.5%) [2,3,4]. Only five cases of multiple intramedullary schwannomas (IMS) have been described [5,6,7,8,9]

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