Cystic Intracranial Hemangiopericytoma; Case report

ABSTRACT

Hemangiopericytomas is a rare malignant tumor of the central nervous system having an incidence of 1-3.8% of all primary intracranial meningeal tumors, and the occurrence of cystic hemangiopericytomas is even rarer. We report our recent experience of a case of cerebral hemangiopericytoma associated with a large cyst in a 38 year-old man. The patient presented with 1-month history of headache. Computerized tomography(CT) and magnetic resonance image(MRI) showed a huge-sized, cystic tumor in the left frontal region. Histopathological report of the excised tumor confirmed cystic hemangiopericytoma. Over the years, the issue of classifying hemangiopericytoma as a form of meningioma has been controversial. Since hemangiopericytoma differs from that of ordinary meningiomas because of its extremely malignant behavior and different histological and ultrastructural properties, the author suggest that hemangiopericytoma classified not with meningiomas. Regardless of classification, total surgical removal of this tumor is crucial due to its tendency for local recurrence despite aggressive resection.