Distant spread of a supratentorial glioblastoma to the spinal cord

Abstract

Extracranial spread from a glioblastoma is rare. We present a case of a 48 year-old man with a previously radiologically-stable left temporal lobe glioblastoma presenting with symptoms referrable to the spinal cord. MRI revealed a spinal cord lesion, with the differential including transverse myelitis and tumour. Open surgical biopsy revealed high-grade astrocytoma. Genetic analysis of both the supratentorial and spinal tumours revealed R132H IDH1 mutations, providing evidence that the spinal cord lesion had spread from the supratentorial tumour.