Intracranial germinoma with syncytiotrophoblastic giant cells in the cerebellopontine angle--case report

Basal Ganglia Germinoma in an Adult

Intracranial germinoma is a rare primary brain cancer, usually located within the midline and mainly affecting Asian pediatric patients. Interestingly, we report here the peculiar case of a young North-African adult patient suffering from a basal ganglia germinoma without the classical ipsilateral cerebral hemiatrophy associated with this location.

Primary human chorionic gonadotropin secreting germinoma of the corpus callosum

Background:

Primary intracranial germinomas are a rare subset of intracranial tumors derived from mis-incorporated germ cells within the folding neural plate during embryogenesis. Though known to arise from midline structures in the central nervous system (CNS), occurrence within the corpus callosum is exceedingly rare.

Case Description:

We present a rare case of secreting primary intracranial germinoma with extensive intraventricular metastasis presenting as a multi-cystic butterfly lesion in the genu of the corpus callosum in a young boy.

Conclusion:

Intracranial germ cell tumors must be considered for any multi-cystic lesion arising from midline structures in the CNS in the preadult population.

Primary germinoma arising from the midbrain

A 29-year-old man presented with diplopia, dysarthria, anisocoria, oculomotor nerve paralysis, abducens nerve paralysis, right facial palsy, and spastic hemiparetic gait. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a homogenously enhanced mass in the midbrain. MRI-guided stereotactic biopsy was performed, and the histologic diagnosis was pure germinoma. The tumor disappeared after chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Germinoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of midbrain lesions in young adults. MRI-guided stereotactic biopsy provided a helpful diagnostic clue in a patient with a midbrain lesion.

Radiological Features of Germinoma Arising From Atypical Locations-Three Case Reports-

Three cases of intracranial germinoma arising from atypical locations occurred in 13-, 22-, and 28-year-old males. The location of the tumor was the corpus callosum (2 cases) and the temporal lobe. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed all three tumors had a largest dimension, including the internal cyst, of over 6 cm, and the cysts were larger than 2.5 cm. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy caused all tumors to disappear. Large tumor and large cyst are features of germinoma arising from atypical locations.