Spinal papillary meningioma: a case report and review of the literature.

A rare case of a spinal papillary meningioma in a 19-year-old adolescent is described. Six months after radical resection the patient showed dissemination along the cerebrospinal pathway. Papillary meningiomas are rare tumours with a relatively high incidence in childhood. Most papillary meningiomas reported in the literature are considered as aggressive variants of meningioma with often local recurrence, dissemination in the CSF and metastases to remote sites. This case supports that, although the histogenesis remains unexplained, papillary meningiomas deserve recognition on the basis of their high morbidity and mortality.