The authors have studied six patients with histologically proven primary malignant lymphoma of the brain which is still a rare primary brain tumor. The clinical, radiological and pathological findings with results of the treatment are presented. All cases showed a good response to radiation therapy. Therefore, the early diagnosis by computerized tomography scan followed by biopsy or excision is considered to be very important for the BEST results in the treatment. Related reports are discussed briefly.
Biopsy ; Brain Neoplasms ; Brain* ; Drug Therapy ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Lymphoma*

In the treatment of the intracranial gliomas surgical intervention is recommended as the standard procedure which should be performed in all cases when the tumor is accessible. While surgery will not bring about a cure and clearly, radiation therapy and chemotherapy have made a significant impact of long-term survival in the treatment of the malignant gliomas, nevertheless surgery still remains the single most effective method for achieving a rapid reduction of tumor burden reducing increased intracranial pressure and provides a tissue diagnosis. Following surgery, the other antitumor programs have the best chance of achieving a significant increment of tumor cell kill, therefore, surgery has a distinct role to play in the multidisciplinable approach to the treatment of these highly aggressive malignant tumors. It is very unlikely that future advances will obviate the necessity for conventional surgery in the treatment of benign gliomas. The surgical management of gliomas with major emphasis on malignant ones is presented including the pathophysiology, radiological diagnosis, aim of surgery, surgical procedure and some different possibility of surgical treatment. Prospective future development of surgical treatment of brain tumor is also considered.
Brain Neoplasms ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Glioma* ; Intracranial Pressure ; Tumor Burden

Basal Ganglia ; Brain Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Germinoma ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Humans ; Thalamus

Twenty five patients with tumors of the brain stem were treated with radiotherapy between 1979 and 1987. Histological diagnosis could be obtained in 6 cases, and other 19 patients were diagnosed by neurologic findings and CT or MRI. Eighteen patients were treated by radical radiotherapy and 6 patients received both operation and radiotherapy, while 1 patient received chemotherapy after radiotherapy. Total dose ranged from 50 Gy to 55 Gy. By an clinical scoring scale at 2 months after radiotherapy, no complete response was obtained, but 16 cases achieved partial response, 2 cases were stable, and 4 cases were deteriorated. The overall survival rate at 3 years was 36%. Age, performance status at diagnosis, degree of cranial nerve involvement, CT pattern of post-contrast enhancement, and clinical response by scoring scale were correlated with survival.
Brain Stem Neoplasms* ; Brain Stem* ; Brain* ; Cranial Nerves ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Radiotherapy* ; Survival Rate

OBJECTIVETo summarize the clinical characteristics, treatment, and prognosis of brain metastasis in patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma.

METHODSRetrospective analysis was conducted in 7 cases of brain metastases of epithelial ovarian carcinoma from January 1986 to March 2007 in Peking Union Medical College Hospital for summarizing therapy results and prognosis-affecting factors.

RESULTSIncidence of brain metastases of epithelial ovarian carcinoma was about 0.66% (7/1055). Serous adenocarcinoma was the predominant pathological type in 4 cases and the subsequent was adenocarcinoma in 3 cases. All the patients were diagnosed at late stage, 6 cases with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IIIc and 1 with FIGO stage IV. The mean duration from diagnosis of ovarian carcinoma to brain metastasis was 32.7 +/- 20.0 months (range, 23-73 months). Single metastasis focus occurred in 43% of cases and multiple metastases in 57% of cases. Fifty-seven percent of patients presented extracranial metastasis. Serum CA125 played a role in monitoring reoccurrence and brain metastases. The average survival time was about 12 months. Better treatment with prolonged survival could be achieved by combination of operation and chemotherapy or combination of radiotherapy with chemotherapy.

CONCLUSIONSAs a rare condition, brain metastasis of epithelial ovarian carcinoma is rising in incidence with improved treatment of ovarian carcinoma and prolonged survival. However, brain metastasis indicates bad prognosis which can be improved by combined therapy.

Adult ; Aged ; Brain Neoplasms ; secondary ; therapy ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial ; diagnosis ; pathology ; therapy ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; pathology ; therapy ; Prognosis

Fibromyalgia syndrome after comprehensive treatment of breast cancer is rare and seldom reported. Here we present a case of a 50-year-old female patient,who was admitted to the hospital because of generalized fibromyalgia for 3 months and brain metastasis after the right breast carcinoma surgery for 1 month, and the clinical diagnosis was brain metastasis from breast carcinoma combined with fibromyalgia syndrome. The fibromyalgia were relieved with proper symptomatic treatment but the patient eventually died of tumor progression.
Brain Neoplasms ; mortality ; secondary ; Breast Neoplasms ; complications ; mortality ; therapy ; Carcinoma ; mortality ; therapy ; Female ; Fibromyalgia ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy ; Humans ; Middle Aged

This study aimed at identifying the frequency and final diagnoses of stroke mimics (SMs) among suspected stroke cases, and seeking differences in clinical & imaging features between SMs and true strokes. It was retrospective with data taken from an ongoing stroke registry for patients admitted to a Stroke Unit between 1 May and 31 October 2011. Baseline characteristics, clinical & imaging features, complications, and outcomes of SMs were compared to those with true strokes by appropriate statistical tests. The total number of cases admitted was 537. Only 232 (43.2%) of them presented during the critical time thrombolytic intervention. SMs comprised 15.9% of all suspected stroke cases. The commonest mimics were psychiatric disorders (43.2%), migraines (16.2%), seizures (8.1%), brain tumors (5.4%), and systemic infections (5.4%). SMs were younger, more common in females, with less evidence of preexisting hypertension (43.2% vs. 56.9% for true strokes). Hemianopia (p = 0.001), sensory inattention, neglect or both (p < 0.001) were more associated with true strokes, while cerebellar, brainstem signs or both (p = 0.045) excluding dysarthria were linked only to SMs. Acute ischemic signs in imaging scans were found linked to true strokes. Some clinical and imaging characteristics were found to differentiate to some extent between SMs and true strokes.
Brain Neoplasms ; Brain Stem ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Dysarthria ; Female ; Hemianopsia ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Migraine Disorders ; Retrospective Studies ; Seizures ; Stroke* ; Thrombolytic Therapy

Hemangioendothelioma is a rare vascular tumor characterized by endothelial tumor cells and variable malignant behavior, and it's not common for this lesion to involve the bone. Although there are a few reports of cranial involvement by hemangioendothelioma, only rare cases arising in temporal bone have been published. We present the radiologic findings of a 7-year-old boy who had a high grade hemangioendothelioma involving the temporal bone with intracranial extension. Evidence of flow voids on MR images suggested a tumor of vascular origin, and the ill-defined margins, cortical destruction and intracranial extension on the CT and MR images were correlated with the tumor's high histologic grade.
Brain Neoplasms/*diagnosis/therapy ; Child ; Hemangioendothelioma/*diagnosis/therapy ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Temporal Bone/*pathology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

We report a case of primary central nervous system(CNS) lymphoma in an organ recipient. A 33-years-old man who underwent a renal transplantation 3years previously presented with headache and vomiting. In Brain computed tomography scans and magnetic resonance images showed multiple periventricular cystic rim enhancing masses. Pathologic diagnosis by stereotactic biopsy revealed malignant non-Hodgkins B-cell lymphoma. After pathologic confirmation, methotrexate chemotherapy and whole brain radiation therapy were done. Having experienced such a case, the authors strongly recommend to add primary CNS lymphoma as one of the differential diagnoses to brain abscess, metastatic brain tumor and glioblastoma multiforme in cases of multiple ring enhancing periventricular lesions of immunocompromised patient or organ recipient.
Biopsy ; Brain ; Brain Abscess ; Brain Neoplasms ; Central Nervous System* ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Drug Therapy ; Glioblastoma ; Headache ; Immunocompromised Host ; Kidney Transplantation ; Lymphoma* ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; Methotrexate ; Vomiting

This is a rare case of cerebral metastasis from malignant fibrous histiocytoma(MFH) of the soft tissue. A 62-year-old man underwent craniotomy for resection of multiple intracerebral masses under the impression of metastatic brain tumor with unknown primary site. Preoperative investigation failed to detect any extracranial lesion. At six months after the operation and whole brain radiotherapy, right shoulder mass was detected to grow and excised. Specimen from the brain and shoulder lesions revealed identical pathological findings of malignant fibrous histiocytoma except existence of glial fibrillary acidic protein(GFAP)-positive cells only in brain lesions. Palliative radiotherapy was performed for subsequently developing metastatic lesions in skeletal system. At twelve months after initial diagnosis recurrent lesion at right shoulder was detected and chemotherapy is given. This case is unique because metastatic brain lesion from MFH is rare and also cerebral metastasis as an initial manifestaion of MFH has not been reported before. Another important finding is that there was expression of GFAP only in brain lesions but not in extracranial primary site lesion. Although the presence of GFAP-positive cells is thought as one of characteristic histological findings of primary intracrainal MFH, our observation supports the hypothesis that GFAP-positive cells in primary intracranial MFH may be nonneoplastic astrocytes secondarily involved by MFH.
Astrocytes ; Brain ; Brain Neoplasms ; Craniotomy ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Histiocytoma, Malignant Fibrous* ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Radiotherapy ; Shoulder