Summary
A 33-year-old woman first noticed numbness in the both lower extremities and the numbness gradually extended up to the thorax. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging demonstrated a mass with moderate and heterogeneous enhancement and peritumoural intramedullary cysts in the spinal cord at the T-1 to T-3 levels. The tumour was explored partially and intra-operative pathological examination demonstrated the so-called “two-cell pattern” typical of germinoma. The margin of the tumour was not clear. Histological examination showed germinoma with strong c-kit protein expression on the tumour cell surface. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy were given following surgery. Her neurological deficits were improved but not resolved.
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Watanabe, A., Horikoshi, T., Naganuma, H. et al. Intramedullary spinal cord germinoma expresses the protooncogene c-kit. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 147, 303–308 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-004-0450-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-004-0450-x