Intracranial and spinal metastases from a ganglioglioma with unusual cytogenetic abnormalities in a patient with complex partial seizures

Abstract

We describe an unusual clinical presentation of a ganglioglioma in a patient with complex partial seizures. The patient underwent a right temporal lobectomy with subtotal tumor resection at age 15 years, followed by a complete resection 1 year later. Follow-up MRI scan a year later documented recurrence and leptomeningeal dissemination. Another biopsy was performed. Pathological examination revealed similar histology in all three resections, with a ganglioglioma showing no evidence of anaplasia. The tumor exhibited a number of karyotypic abnormalities, notably, a paracentric inversion of chromosome 7. In summary, despite lacking anaplastic features by conventional histological criteria, this ganglioglioma showed an unsusual karyotype and demonstrated radiological evidence of widespread dissemination.