Cerebral AL lambda-amyloidoma: clinical and pathomorphological characteristics. Review of the literature and of a patient

Long-Term Progression of a Residual Cerebral Amyloidoma: An Illustrative Case and Systematic Review

OBJECTIVE

Cerebral amyloidomas (CA) are exceptionally rare tumor-like lesions composed of cerebral amyloid-beta, which is derived from the cleavage of the amyloid precursor protein.

METHODS

We presented a case of recurrent CA and performed a systematic review, comparing their initial presentation, imaging features, neurosurgical treatment, and natural history of the disease.

ILLUSTRATIVE CASE

A 65-year-old male with a history of right homonymous hemianopsia, who underwent subtotal resection of a CA 19 years before, presents to the emergency department with right hemiparesis, dysarthria, and a new onset of clonic seizures. Imaging revealed a left parieto-occipital lesion with calcifications and vasogenic edema. A gross-total resection was performed. Histopathology revealed a hypocellular eosinophilic lesion consistent with CA. Postoperatively, the patient recovered without new neurological deficits. One-year follow-up magnetic resonance imaging showed no residual or recurrence lesion.

SEARCH RESULTS

Eighty-seven cases, including ours, revealed that 65.5% (n = 57) were females with a median age of 54 years (IQR: 46-62). Most lesions were solitary (82.7%; 72 of 87 lesions). Frontal and parietal lobes were most commonly affected with 32.9% (n = 28) and 30.5% (n = 26), respectively. Seizures were the most common symptom followed by visual compromise. Calcifications were present in 19.5% (n = 17) of the lesions.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review provides insights into the epidemiological, clinical, and neurosurgical characteristics, as well as the long-term prognosis of CA. This marks the first case in the reviewed literature with a 19-year period of follow-up where the patient had reoperation due to disease progression.

Primary cerebral immunoglobulin light chain amyloidoma in a patient with multiple sclerosis

A man in his 60s, known with multiple sclerosis, presented with seizures and paresis of the left arm and leg. Brain imaging showed a white matter lesion, right parietal, which was progressive over the last 6 years and not typical for multiple sclerosis. Brain biopsy showed a B-cell infiltrate with IgA lambda monotypic plasma cell differentiation and amyloid deposits, typed as lambda immunoglobulin light chain (AL). Bone marrow biopsy and PET/CT ruled out a systemic lymphoma. Extended history taking, blood and urine testing (including cardiac biomarkers) identified no evidence of systemic amyloidosis-induced organ dysfunction.Primary cerebral AL amyloidoma is a very rare entity where optimal treatment is difficult to assess. The patient was treated with locally applied volumetric modulated arc radiotherapy, 24 Gy, divided in 12 fractions. Afterwards, the paresis of the left arm partially resolved, and the function of the left leg improved. Seizures did not occur anymore.

Primary Intrasellar Amyloidoma

Amyloidomas of the nervous system are rare in clinical practice and rarely reported in the literature. Primary intrasellar amyloidomas are even rarer. We encountered a 39-year-old male patient, whose chief complaint was headache and who had been hospitalized for 10 days. The patient did not have any past medical history. Preoperative computed tomography and magnetic resonance were nevertheless performed to exclude the possibility of pituitary apoplexy or Rathke cleft cyst. Due to the progressive worsening of his headache, a neuroendoscopic transsphenoidal tumor resection was carried out. During surgery it was found that the tumor exhibited a yellow crystalline substance with an inadequate blood supply and no obvious encapsulation. The tumor was completely resected under endoscopy, the amyloidoma was confirmed by postoperative pathological results, and no pituitary adenoma was found. The patient's headache resolved after surgery, and after a 1-year follow-up, the tumor had not recurred.

Magnetic resonance imaging of a temporal lobe cerebral amyloidoma

Amyloidomas are focal solitary amyloid masses without systemic involvement that have been observed to occur in various body locations. When presenting intracranially, they pose a challenging diagnostic and therapeutic course given their location and rarity. We report a case of a 62-year-old man with a 4-year history of seizure and headaches. Magnetic resonance imaging was initially inconclusive but revealed an ill-defined right temporal lobe lesion. Biopsy later confirmed a cerebral amyloidoma. We also review the current literature on the pathogenesis, imaging findings, prognosis, and treatment of cerebral amyloidomas.

Cerebral Amyloidoma Accompanied by Sjögren's Syndrome: A Case Report and Literature Review

We present a 69-year-old woman with colorectal cancer and a left frontal lobe tumor that was diagnosed as a cerebral amyloidoma after surgical resection. Further postoperative systemic evaluation revealed another amyloidoma in her hip as well as Sjögren's syndrome. Systemic amyloidosis was not present. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of cerebral amyloidoma presenting as one of the multiple localized amyloidomas accompanied by Sjögren's syndrome. We also present a systematic review of 65 cerebral amyloidoma cases reported in the literature over the past 40 years and discuss patient characteristics and pathological and imaging findings associated with prognosis.

Management and Outcome of Solitary Spinal Amyloidoma-A Systematic Literature Review

BACKGROUND

Solitary spinal amyloidoma (SSA) is a rare and poorly characterized disease. There are few cases described, and the knowledge of this neoplasm is limited. A more accurate description of demographics, clinical findings, and outcomes may be useful for a better understanding of this pathology, as well as therapeutic intervention, adding value to the research of localized amyloidosis.

METHODS

A systematic search was carried out from when registries began until February 2020. We also include a case diagnosed and treated in our department. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate data, demographics, clinical findings, diagnostic modalities, therapeutics, and finally neurologic outcomes. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to assess overall survival and progression-free survival.

RESULTS

The final cohort comprises 35 patients. The mean age at diagnosis was 61.97 years, and 68.60% of the patients were male. SSA developed more frequently in the thoracic spine (48.60%), followed by the cervical spine (17.10%). Intradural lesions were rare, and the average neoplastic score for spinal instability was 9.5 points. The most common symptoms were impaired motor function (74.29%) and axial back pain (65.70%). After surgery, neurologic recovery was reported in 82.90% of cases. Mean progression-free survival and mean overall survival were 47.26 and 156.66 months.

CONCLUSIONS

SSA is a rare subgroup of localized amyloidosis, usually being diagnosed in male patients between the sixth and eighth decades. The gold standard treatment seems to be surgical resection. SSA patients have excellent long-term survival and a low rate of local recurrence.

A Rare Case of Cerebral Amyloidoma Mimicking a Hemorrhagic Malignant Central Nervous System Neoplasm

Cerebral amyloidoma is a rare form of amyloidosis with a localized tumor like an amyloid deposition in the brain composed of insoluble fibrillary protein with cross beta-sheet conformation. Its usual presentation includes vision loss, seizures, behavioral changes, cognitive decline, and recurrent headaches. It has a benign course with a slow progression, and it is not associated with dissemination. We report a case of a 65-year-old Caucasian woman who presented with symptoms of progressively worsening cognitive dysfunction of six months' duration. From CT of the brain, it was found that she had a right frontal and left parietal hemorrhagic mass with a large amount of vasogenic edema and a midline shift. MRI showed heterogeneously enhancing hemorrhagic mass of 5.2 cm x 2.6 cm x 3.6 cm in size, with a satellite lesion. Initially, this was suspected to be a high-grade glioma vs. metastatic hemorrhagic lesions. She underwent stereotactic biopsy of the mass, and histopathology was consistent with cerebral amyloidoma with marked IgA lambda plasma cell differentiation. She did not have any evidence of systemic amyloidosis, and therefore, she is being clinically observed with a regular follow-up and annual CT surveillance. She has remained stable over the past two years, although she has residual cognitive dysfunction. Cerebral amyloidoma can mimic malignant central nervous system (CNS) neoplasms and should be considered as a differential of any single or multiple mass lesions occurring in the white matter region of the brain with a characteristic appearance of "hyperdense lesions" on CT. It is a benign disease with no metastatic potential that usually resolves entirely after resection.

Minimally Invasive Resection of Intracerebral Amyloidoma: Case Report and Systematic Review of the Literature

BACKGROUND

Management of cerebral amyloidomas has lacked consensus owing to their rarity. We present a case and review 39 reported cases of amyloidomas in the literature, comparing their initial presentation, imaging characteristics, treatment, and progression.

CASE DESCRIPTION

A 56-year-old woman presented with a history of intractable headaches and progressive speech difficulty. Imaging demonstrated a 1.7 × 2.6 cm left frontal subcortical hemorrhagic mass with an associated developmental venous anomaly, characteristics initially suggestive of a cavernous malformation. Diffusion tractography imaging was employed to avoid interference with the intact arcuate fasciculus and corticospinal tracts to minimize neurologic deficits.

CONCLUSIONS

To our knowledge, this is the first documented case of the use of diffusion tractography in preoperative planning for cerebral amyloidoma resection. Our systematic review of 39 reported cases of amyloidomas in the literature provided insight regarding how these rare lesions have manifested and progressed and further understanding of current theories regarding their etiology and pathophysiology. Cerebral amyloidomas are rare, localized, proteinaceous aggregates with variable presentation and prognosis and no apparent relationship to systemic amyloidosis. Biopsy may be useful in determination of progression. Diffusion tractography is a valuable tool for minimizing complications associated with resection.

Primary brain amyloidoma, both a neoplastic and a neurodegenerative disease: a case report

BACKGROUND

Scattered extracellular deposits of amyloid within the brain parenchyma can be found in a heterogeneous group of diseases. Its condensed accumulation in the white matter without evidence for systemic amyloidosis is known as primary brain amyloidoma (PBA). Although originally considered as a tumor-like lesion by its space-occupying effect, this condition displays also common hallmarks of a neurodegenerative disorder.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 50-year-old woman presented with a mild cognitive decline and seizures with a right temporal, irregular and contrast-enhancing mass on magnetic resonance imaging. Suspecting a high-grade glioma, the firm tumor was subtotally resected. Neuropathological examination showed no glioma, but distinct features of a neurodegenerative disorder. The lesion was composed of amyloid AL λ aggregating within the brain parenchyma as well as the adjacent vessels, partially obstructing the vascular lumina. Immunostaining confirmed a distinct perivascular inflammatory reaction. After removal of the PBA, mnestic impairments improved considerably, the clinical course and MRI-results are stable in the 8-year follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Based on our histopathological findings, we propose to regard the clinicopathological entity of PBA as an overlap between a neoplastic and neurodegenerative disorder. Since the lesions are locally restricted, they might be amenable to surgery with the prospect of a definite cure.

Primary solitary retro-clival amyloidoma

BACKGROUND

Amyloidosis encompasses a group of disorders sharing the common feature of intercellular deposition of amyloid protein by several different pathogenetic mechanisms. Primary solitary amyloidosis, or amyloidoma, is a rare subset of amyloidosis in which amyloid deposition is focal and not secondary to a systemic process or plasma cell dyscrasia.

CASE DESCRIPTION

This 84-year-old female presented with history of multiple syncopal episodes, dysphagia, and ataxia. Motor strength was 3+/5 in the right upper extremity. Rheumatoid factor, cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP), and anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) were normal. Serum and urine immune-electrophoresis detected no abnormal bands. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a non-enhancing soft-tissue mass extending from the retro-clivus to C2 posteriorly, eccentric to the right with severe mass effect on the upper cervical medullary junction. Endoscopic trans-nasal debulking of the retro-clival mass was performed with occiput to C5 posterior instrumentation for spinal stabilization.

CONCLUSIONS

Primary solitary amyloidosis, unlike other forms of amyloidosis, has an excellent prognosis with local resection. Diagnosis requires special stains and a degree of suspicion for the disease. This is the first report to document an endoscopic trans-nasal approach for removal of a primary solitary amyloidosis of the retro-clivus. Management of vertebral amyloidoma involves aggressive local resection of the tumor when feasible and spine stabilization as the degree of tumor involvement mandates. Complete evaluation for the diagnosis of systemic amyloidosis is essential for the management and prognostication. Surgeons encountering such lesions must maintain high suspicion for this rare disease and advise pathologists accordingly to establish the correct diagnosis.

Multimodality Review of Amyloid-related Diseases of the Central Nervous System

Amyloid-β (Aβ) is ubiquitous in the central nervous system (CNS), but pathologic accumulation of Aβ results in four distinct neurologic disorders that affect middle-aged and elderly adults, with diverse clinical presentations ranging from chronic debilitating dementia to acute life-threatening intracranial hemorrhage. The characteristic imaging patterns of Aβ-related CNS diseases reflect the pathophysiology of Aβ deposition in the CNS. Aβ is recognized as a key component in the neuronal damage that characterizes the pathophysiology of Alzheimer disease, the most common form of dementia. Targeted molecular imaging shows pathologic accumulation of Aβ and tau protein, and fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography and anatomic imaging allow differentiation of typical patterns of neuronal dysfunction and loss in patients with Alzheimer disease from those seen in patients with other types of dementia. Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is an important cause of cognitive impairment and spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage in the elderly. Hemorrhage and white matter injury seen at imaging reflect vascular damage caused by the accumulation of Aβ in vessel walls. The rare forms of inflammatory angiopathy attributed to Aβ, Aβ-related angiitis and CAA-related inflammation, cause debilitating neurologic symptoms that improve with corticosteroid therapy. Imaging shows marked subcortical and cortical inflammation due to perivascular inflammation, which is incited by vascular Aβ accumulation. In the rarest of the four disorders, cerebral amyloidoma, the macroscopic accumulation of Aβ mimics the imaging appearance of tumors. Knowledge of the imaging patterns and pathophysiology is essential for accurate diagnosis of Aβ-related diseases of the CNS. (©)RSNA, 2016.

Cerebral amyloidoma is characterized by B-cell clonality and a stable clinical course

Amyloidomas are rare amyloid-containing lesions, which may also occur in the central nervous system. Etiology, pathogenesis and clinical course are poorly understood. To gain more insight into the biology of cerebral amyloidoma, they aimed to characterize its histopathological, molecular and clinical features in a retrospective series of seven patients. FFPE tissue specimens were examined using immunohistochemistry, chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) for light chains kappa and lambda as well as an IgH gene clonality analysis. Follow-up information was gathered by reviewing patient records and imaging results. Median age of the three males and four females was 50 years (range: 35-53 years). All cerebral amyloidomas were located supratentorially and were classified as lambda light chain amyloidosis (AL-λ; n = 6) and kappa light chain amyloidosis (AL-κ; n = 1) on immunohistochemistry and CISH. B-cell clonality was confirmed by IgH gene clonality assay in all cases examined. After a median follow-up of 21 months, all patients were alive and showed stable disease. No progression to systemic disease was observed. In conclusion, their data suggest that cerebral amyloidoma is a local disease characterized by B-cell clonality and associated with a stable clinical course.

A rare case of central nervous system amyloidoma treated with fractionated radiotherapy

A 54-year-old female presented with multiple episodes of emesis, intractable headaches, worsening balance, and slowly progressive right facial weakness. Imaging demonstrated a 3-cm mass in the left internal capsule and corona radiata region with associated edema, mass effect, and midline shift concerning for high-grade glioma, lymphoma, or brain metastasis. Stereotactic biopsy of the mass was consistent with amyloid deposition. Systemic workup for amyloidosis was negative, and the mass was thought to represent a focal tumor-like deposit of amyloid, also referred to as "amyloidoma." In the absence of systemic disease, therapy, which can include surgery or radiotherapy, can be directed at the local process. The location of the patient's lesion was not amenable to resection; therefore, she was treated with fractionated radiotherapy of 30.6 Gy at 1.8 Gy per fraction. Serial brain MRI demonstrated stability 18 months out from therapy. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first documented case of focal fractionated radiotherapy for CNS amyloidoma. The authors concluded that radiotherapy can prevent further progression of amyloidomas in anatomical locations that prohibit resection.

Isolated intracerebral light chain deposition disease: novel imaging and pathologic findings

Light chain deposition disease (LCDD) is a rare clinicopathologic entity first described in 1976 and is characterized by a monoclonal gammopathy resulting in nonamyloid immunoglobulin light chain tissue deposition. Only four cases of intracerebral LCDD have been previously reported, all in the setting of a known plasma cell dyscrasia or in the presence of local mature plasma cells. We present the first case of intracranial LCDD in the absence of a known plasma cell dyscrasia or local mature plasma cells.

Primary cerebral low-grade B-cell lymphoma, monoclonal immunoglobulin deposition disease, cerebral light chain deposition disease and "aggregoma": an update on classification and diagnosis

Background

This work aims to add evidence and provide an update on the classification and diagnosis of monoclonal immunoglobulin deposition disease (MIDD) and primary central nervous system low-grade lymphomas. MIDD is characterized by the deposition of light and heavy chain proteins. Depending on the spatial arrangement of the secreted proteins, light chain-derived amyloidosis (AL) can be distinguished from non-amyloid light chain deposition disease (LCDD). We present a case of an extremely rare tumoral presentation of LCDD (aggregoma) and review the 3 previously published LCDD cases and discuss their presentation with respect to AL.

Case presentation

A 61-year-old woman presented with a 3½-year history of neurologic symptoms due to a progressive white matter lesion of the left subcortical parieto-insular lobe and basal ganglia. 2 former stereotactic biopsies conducted at different hospitals revealed no evidence of malignancy or inflammation; thus, no therapy had been initiated. After performing physiological and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the tumor was removed under intraoperative monitoring at our department. Histological analysis revealed large amorphous deposits and small islands of lymphoid cells.

Conclusion

LCCD is a very rare and obscure manifestation of primary central nervous system low-grade lymphomas that can be easily misdiagnosed by stereotactic biopsy sampling. If stereotactic biopsy does not reveal a definite result, a “wait-and-see” strategy can delay possible therapy for this disease. The impact of surgical removal, radiotherapy and chemotherapy in LCDD obviously remains controversial because of the low number of relevant cases.

Cerebral amyloidoma mimicking intracranial tumor: a case report

Introduction

Cerebral amyloidoma is an infrequently recognized condition that can be confused with a more malignant etiology. Few cases have been reported. We present a case report and a review of the literature.

Case presentation

Our patient was a 64-year-old Caucasian man who was incidentally discovered to have a brain mass. He was found to have a cerebral amyloidoma.

Conclusion

After discovery of the true etiology of his brain abnormality, it was determined that our patient had a more benign disease than was initially feared. Cases such as this demonstrate why consideration of this disorder is important.

A 61-year-old man with instability of gait and right hand clumsiness

60 year-old man, without relevant medical history, noted a slight and progressive instability of gait for one month and right hand clumsiness. Brain MRI showed a cerebellar lesion, posterior to the middle cerebellar peduncle. This lesion was heterogeneous and hyperintense on FLAIR sequences, isointense on T1-weighted images, and showed gadolinium enhancement. Hematological and biological serum analyses were normal as were plasma and urine immunoelectrophoresis. CSF analysis including protein electrophoresis was unremarkable. CT scans of the abdomen, chest and pelvis were normal as were cervical echography and bone scintigraphy. A yellowish and firm lesion was surgically resected. The patient's recovery was good, with normal total body PET scan and bone marrow biopsy. Pathological study evidenced kappa light chain deposits and kappa-immunopositive mature plasma-cells in the vicinity. The deposits failed to show any birefringence in polarized light microscopy after Congo red staining, and electron microscopy revealed their granular ultrastructure. Light chains are well known for their amyloidogenic properties, but in a few cases, they are non amyloidogenic and may cause tissue deposits histologically similar to amyloid but Congo red-negative and non fibrillary at ultrastructural examination. Occurrence of light chain deposits in the brain is rare and the tumor-like MRI presentation is reminiscent of primary intracerebral amyloidoma presenting as a mass lesion. This is the first report of intracerebral kappa light chain deposits which presumably derived from local synthesis by mature plasma cells.

Cerebral amyloidosis: amyloid subunits, mutants and phenotypes

Cerebral amyloid diseases are part of a complex group of chronic and progressive entities bracketed together under the common denomination of protein folding disorders and characterized by the intra- and extracellular accumulation of fibrillar aggregates. Of the more than 25 unrelated proteins known to produce amyloidosis in humans only about a third of them are associated with cerebral deposits translating in cognitive deficits, dementia, stroke, cerebellar and extrapyramidal signs, or a combination thereof. The familial forms reviewed herein, although infrequent, provide unique paradigms to examine the role of amyloid in the mechanism of disease pathogenesis and to dissect the link between vascular and parenchymal amyloid deposition and their differential contribution to neurodegeneration.

Cerebral immunoglobulin light chain amyloid angiopathy-related hemorrhages

INTRODUCTION

Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is a common cause of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) particularly in elderly patients. In CAA-related hemorrhages, amyloid deposits in the brain vessel walls mainly contain amyloid beta-protein (A-beta). Rarely other forms of amyloid substances have been reported in sporadic CAA-related hemorrhages.

METHODS

We report the case of a 44-year-old patient with recurrent ICH who had surgical evacuation of a large frontal hematoma. Following surgery, samples from the hematoma and adjacent cerebral cortex were obtained for histopathological examination.

RESULTS

Within the recent hemorrhage, a few arteriolar walls were thickened with an amyloid deposit that was immunostained for immunoglobulin (Ig) M and light chain lambda. In the wall of some vessels, around the amyloid deposits, as well as in the adjacent cerebral cortex, there was an infiltration by monotypic lymphocytes and plasma cells expressing IgM and light chain lambda. No amyloid deposition was found outside the hemorrhage. There was no evidence of multiple myeloma, B-cell malignancy, or systemic amyloidosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Recurrent ICH may be due to amyloid deposition of IgM lambda produced by monotypic proliferation of lymphocytes and plasma cells purely localized to the brain.