Spinal meningeal melanocytoma: a case report and review of the literature

How Should We Treat Meningeal Melanocytoma? A Retrospective Analysis of Potential Treatment Strategies

BACKGROUND

Meningeal melanocytomas (MM) are rare primary melanocytic tumors of the leptomeninges with an incidence of 1:10,000,000. Until now, there has been only sparse information about this tumor entity. Here, we provide a meta-analysis of all cases published in the English language since 1972.

METHODS

A literature review was performed using PubMed and Web of Science. All published cases were evaluated for location, sex, age, therapeutic approach, and outcome. In total, we included 201 patient cases in our meta-analysis.

RESULTS

The majority of MM was diagnosed more frequently in men between the third and fifth decade of life. Surgery is the preferred therapeutic approach, and total resection is associated with the best outcome. Patients with partial resection or tumor recurrence benefit from adjuvant radiotherapy, whereas chemo- or immunotherapies do not improve the disease course. Malignant transformation was described in 18 patients. Of these, 11 patients developed metastasis.

CONCLUSIONS

We present the first retrospective meta-analysis of all MM cases published in the English language, including an evaluation of different treatment strategies allowing us to suggest a novel treatment guideline highlighting the importance of total resection for recurrence-free survival and characterizing those cases which benefit from adjuvant radiotherapy.

Malignant Transformation and Metastatic Spread of Dumbbell-Shaped Meningeal Melanocytoma of the Cervical Spine: A Case Report and Literature Review

Background

Meningeal melanocytoma is a rare disease that originates from leptomeningeal melanocytes in the central nervous system. Meningeal melanocytoma is generally considered benign, and has a good prognosis following complete surgical resection. Reports of the malignant transformation and spread of these tumors are scarce.

Case Presentation

A 19 year old female presented with headache, progressive limb weakness, and dyspnea. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a dumbbell-shaped lesion at C1–C2 that was hyperintense on T1 weighted images and showed strong contrast enhancement. Total resection was achieved using a posterior midline approach. Post-operative pathology showed meningeal melanocytoma. The tumor recurred 9 months later with intracranial spread. Resection of the lesion revealed malignant transformation to meningeal melanoma.

Conclusion

Meningeal melanocytoma harbors malignant potential even with total resection. Radiotherapy could be considered to prevent disease recurrence and progression.

8-Year Follow-up for Woman with Spinal Meningeal Melanocytoma in S1 Nerve Root: Case Report and Literature Review

BACKGROUND

Primary melanocytic neoplasms in the central nervous system are rare lesions arising from leptomeningeal melanocytes. These lesions produce neural deficits that resemble those of a meningioma or a schwannoma radiologically.

CASE DESCRIPTION

A tumor around the left S1 root with an extension into the left paraspinal compartment was identified in a 32-year-old female with persistent left leg pain for 6 months. The tumor was hyperintense on T1-weighted image and hypointense on T2-weighted image with a homogeneous enhancement. The clinical features, radiologic presentations, treatment choice, and pathologic characteristic were illustrated. The treatment outcome was compared with those reported in the previous literature. The tumor was en-bloc resected with the S1 nerve root reserved. Grossly, the tumor was a soft, capsulated, well-circumscribed, black pigmented lesion. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the tumor cells were positive for HMB-45, S-100 protein, and vimentin. The patient's symptoms were greatly relieved postoperatively. No signs of local recurrence were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

Spinal meningeal melanocytoma inside the nerve root is rare and benign. It is difficult to diagnose and often misdiagnosed as schwannoma or meningioma. HMB-45 has been suggested as a significant marker for the diagnosis of meningeal melanocytoma. Complete surgical resection is recommended as the primary treatment. Radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and other treatments can be selected as adjuvant therapies, but their effects are controversial. The recurrence and metastasis rates also remain unclear.

Multifocal meningeal melanocytoma: a new pathological entity or the result of leptomeningeal seeding?

Meningeal melanocytoma is a rare benign CNS tumor derived from the leptomeningeal melanocytes. Although unusual, malignant transformation with leptomeningeal seeding into the brain or spinal cord may occur years after the initial diagnosis. The authors report a unique case of multifocal benign meningeal melanocytoma involving both cerebellopontine angles and the thoracic spinal cord, with associated diffuse leptomeningeal hyperpigmentation. They review the literature relevant to this topic and discuss the radiological and pathological features of this disease as well as its treatment options.

Surgical treatment for intramedullary spinal cord melanocytomas

Spinal meningeal melanocytomas are rare lesions that are histologically benign and can behave aggressively, with local infiltration. The authors present their experience with intramedullary spinal cord melanocytomas consisting of 3 cases, which represents the second largest series in the literature. A retrospective chart review was performed following identification of all spinal melanocytomas treated at the author's institution, based on information obtained from a neuropathology database. The charts were reviewed for patient demographics, surgical procedure, clinical outcome, and long-term tumor progression. Three patients were identified in whom spinal melanocytoma had been diagnosed between 1989 and 2006. The patients' ages were 37, 37, and 48 years, and the location of their tumor was C1-3, T9-10, and T-12, respectively. All 3 had complete resection with no adjuvant radiotherapy during follow-up periods of 16, 38, and 185 months, respectively. One patient demonstrated a recurrence 29 months after resection and the other 2 patients have demonstrated asymptomatic recurrences on imaging studies obtained at 16 and 38 months following resection. With these cases added to the available literature, the evidence strongly suggests that complete resection is the treatment of choice for spinal melanocytomas. Even with complete resection, recurrences are common and close follow-up is needed for the long term in these patients. Radiation therapy should be reserved for those cases in which complete resection is not possible or in which there is recurrence.

Spinal meningeal melanocytoma. Report of two cases and review of the literature

The authors report on two patients with spinal meningeal melanocytoma and review the literature on this lesion. One case is particularly interesting because of the lesion's thoracic intramedullary localization. Meningeal melanocytoma is a benign but locally aggressive lesion and is very rarely associated with spinal localizations. This patient presented with paraparesis. Clinical and radiological examinations suggested the possibility of an intramedullary solid tumor. Thoracic laminectomy, posterior myelotomy, and tumor resection were performed; the mass was totally removed. The patient suffered no additional neurological deficit. During a 3-year follow-up period in which radiotherapy was not performed, the lesion did not recur. Total excision of the tumor is the best therapeutic option.

Lumbar spinal meningeal melanocytoma of the l3 nerve root with paraspinal extension: a case report

STUDY DESIGN

A case report of spinal meningeal melanocytoma with a dumbbell-shaped extension and its magnetic resonance imaging features is presented.

OBJECTIVE

To present a rare spinal tumor with pathologic and radiologic features.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

Meningeal melanocytomas are rare lesions usually found in the posterior fossa and upper cervical spine. The review of literature shows the variation in different studies. The characteristic magnetic resonance imaging features of meningeal melanocytoma have not yet been defined.

METHODS

A 33-year-old woman presented with a 3-year history of backache and weakness of her left lower limb. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a large dumbbell tumor at L3-L4 with extension in the paraspinal region. Schwannoma was the first possibility suggested by the MRI features. Histopathology of the lesion showed a meningeal melanocytoma.

RESULTS

The patient showed a significant recovery after surgery and a full course of radiotherapy.

CONCLUSIONS

Radiologic presentation could be confusing in cases of spinal dumbbell-shaped tumors. Awareness of the lesion characteristics will facilitate diagnosis and treatment of this condition.

Meningeal melanocytoma of the brain and oculodermal melanocytosis (nevus of Ota): case report and literature review

BACKGROUND

Meningeal melanocytomas are rare benign pigmented tumors of meningeal melanocytes. Nevus of Ota is a melanocytic pigmentation of the sclera and the skin adjacent to the eye. We report a rare case of parietal convexity meningeal melanocytoma associated with ipsilateral mucocutaneous melanosis and review the literature.

METHODS

A 17-year-old man presented with headache and blindness. There was left scalp and facial mucocutaneous melanosis. During surgery, speckled hyperpigmentation was seen in all layers of the scalp, bone, dura, and even ependyma. Pathologic examination of the tumor and scalp consisted of light microscopy and immunohistochemistry. In a literature review, the demographics (age, sex), clinical characteristics (site of lesion, duration of symptoms), therapeutic options (surgical excision, radiotherapy), and prognosis (recurrence, death, death related to the disease, and follow-up) were analyzed. For statistical analysis we used the independent sample t-test and chi(2) tests.

RESULTS

Ninety-five cases (45 intracranial and 50 spinal) of meningeal melanocytoma have been reported. The median age of patients with intracranial lesions (40 years) was significantly lower than that of patients with spinal lesions (49 years) (p = 0.016). Of the 95 patients, 57.9% were female. In the nervous system, melanocytes are more common in the infratentorial and cervical areas, but more than half of the tumors have been located in the supratentorial region and the thoracic spine. In 46 months median follow-up, tumor recurrence rate and tumor related death rate were 26.3% and 10.5%, respectively. These were not statistically significant for different therapeutic modalities. There was a trend toward shorter survival for patients who underwent subtotal tumor resection without radiotherapy compared with other groups.

CONCLUSION

The prognostic criteria, differential diagnosis, and the embryological aspects of meningeal melanocytoma are discussed with a review of the related literature.

Two cases of spinal meningeal melanocytoma

Meningeal melanocytoma is a rare pigmented tumor originating from the melanocytes that generally occurs in the posterior fossa and the spinal cord. Although it is known as a relatively benign tumor, some recurrences have been reported. We report two cases of spinal meningeal melanocytoma with immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies. In addition, we include a summary of published cases since the first case of Limas and Tio in 1972.

[Spinal meningeal melanocytoma simulating neurinoma: case report]

Meningeal melanocytomas are infrequent tumors that when located in the spinal cord and because of their close relationship to the nerve root can resemble a neurinoma. The MRl can help to differentiate them from the neurinomas preoperatively. The case of a female patient harboring a cervical meningeal melanocytoma involving the C7 nerve root, and diagnosed preoperatively as an hourglass neurinoma is presented.

Therapeutic options for meningeal melanocytoma. Case report

Meningeal melanocytomas are uncommon lesions. They are generally considered to be benign tumors that derive from leptomeningeal melanocytes. A rare case of a metastatic spinal meningeal melanocytoma is presented. All relevant cases reported in literature since 1972, when the term "meningeal melanocytoma" was first used, were reviewed. Rates of tumor recurrence from 1 to 5 years were calculated for this rare lesion, based on published data and on additional information obtained from personal contact with most of the authors. Recurrency rates of 47 patients suitable for evaluation were correlated with the different therapeutic approaches. Complete tumor resection alone and incomplete resection alone followed by irradiation appeared to be superior to incomplete resection alone in terms of disease-free survival. Statistical significance was achieved for complete tumor resection at follow up between I and 4 years (range p = 0.010-0.050) and for incomplete resection combined with radiotherapy after 2 years (p = 0.034). Complete tumor resection should be considered the best therapeutic option, followed by incomplete resection combined with postoperative radiotherapy.

Benign melanocytic tumor in infancy: discussion on a rare case and review of the literature

Meningeal melanocytoma is an infrequent neoplasm of the central nervous system (CNS), especially in childhood and infancy. It was first described as an entity different from pigmented meningiomas and schwannomas in 1972, and few cases have been published so far. In this article, a 5-month-old male patient with meningeal melanocytoma is presented. This midline lesion was localized in the posterior fossa and manifested by hydrocephalus. The entire dural origin and extradural growing pattern in addition to the destruction of the adjacent occipital bone were the unexpected presentations since these tumors usually tend to locate on leptomeninges and to extend into the adjacent neural compartment rather than the outside. On the other hand, this case is the only one which had identical lesions in both surrenal glands and the left renal capsule, the structures containing neural-crest-derived cells outside the CNS. The prognostic criteria, differential diagnosis and its embryological aspects are discussed with an extensive review of the related existing literature.

Spinal meningeal melanocytoma presenting with superficial siderosis of the central nervous system. Case report and review of the literature

Meningeal melanocytoma is a benign melanocytic tumor that originates most frequently from the melanocytes in the posterior fossa or along the spinal cord. This tumor generally occurs as an extraaxial mass that compresses adjacent neural structures to produce various neurological signs. The authors describe an unusual case in which a patient with a meningeal melanocytoma located at the thoracic spinal cord presented with superficial siderosis of the central nervous system (CNS). Extensive neuroradiological studies identified the presence of a spinal cord tumor, and postsurgical histological examination revealed the meningeal melanocytoma as a bleeding source. After surgery, lumbar puncture demonstrated normalization of the patient's cerebrospinal fluid; however, no neurological improvement occurred. The neurological deficits seem irreversible. Meningeal melanocytoma is biologically benign and can be cured by complete surgical resection; therefore, this tumor should be included in the differential diagnosis of pigmented lesions of the CNS. The authors reviewed 14 cases of well-documented meningeal melanocytoma in the literature and discuss the clinical, radiological, and pathological features of the present case to emphasize the importance of early diagnosis and identification of the source of bleeding in patients with superficial siderosis.