Primary diffuse leptomeningeal gliomatosis as a rare cause of pain in cervical spine. Issue 1 (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sivák, Štefan; Kantorová, Ema; Kurča, Egon; Marcinek, Juraj; Slávik, Pavol; Michalik, Jozef; Nosáľ, Vladimír
• Is Part Of: BMC cancer. Volume 16:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 5
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: Primary diffuse leptomeningeal gliomatosis -- Glioblastoma multiforme -- Persistent back pain -- Cervical spine; Cancer -- Periodicals; 616.994005
• DOI: 10.1186/s12885-016-2224-2
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1471-2407

Abstract

Abstract Background Primary diffuse leptomeningeal gliomatosis (PDLG) is a very rare neuro-oncological disease, with only 90 cases of PDLG described in medical literature so far. Case presentation We present a case report of a 56-years-old female patient, who was originally hospitalized due to cervical spine pain lasting several months. Despite complex diagnostics and treatment, the neurological state of the patient progressively deteriorated. Patient died 10 months after the first reported symptom. Postmortem pathological findings resulted in the diagnosis of PDLG. Conclusions Affection of the cervical spine in early stages of PDLG is rare and has been described in only six patients so far. PDLG is a fatal neuro-oncological disease and it must be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of persistent back pain syndromes.