ABSTRACT
A nine-year-old boy presented with increasingly worsening right shoulder pain of 18 months' duration. On physical examination, there was a tender firm swelling over the right upper arm. Radiographs showed a large osteolytic lesion in the proximal humeral diaphysis, with prominent mixed acute-on-chronic periosteal reaction in a lamellar fashion. There was a pathological fracture. The lesion appeared to be radiographically aggressive in nature. Bone scintiscan showed solitary marked uptake. On-table frozen section histopathological examination of the lesion showed an osteoblastic lesion with aggressive features. Completion curettage and high speed burring of the cavity was performed. In view of the patient's young age, which required a biological solution, and potential for local recurrence, that necessitated a radiopaque filler, the lesion was packed with a calcium phosphate cement paste. The final diagnosis was osteoblastoma with aggressive features. The patient remained well on follow-up to date. The filler continues to be remodelled to native tissue and there is no evidence of local recurrence. Osteoblastoma is a relatively rare benign tumour that typically occurs in the posterior elements of the vertebral column. The humerus is a very rare site of disease in the appendicular skeleton, and poses a diagnostic dilemma which implicates the possibility of osteogenic sarcoma.
Subject(s)
Bone Neoplasms/diagnosis , Humerus , Osteoblastoma/diagnosis , Bone Neoplasms/pathology , Bone Neoplasms/surgery , Child , Diagnosis, Differential , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Osteoblastoma/pathology , Osteoblastoma/surgery , Tomography, Emission-ComputedABSTRACT
AIM: To describe the preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics of primitive neuroectodermal tumours (PNETs), in particular the diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), MR spectroscopy (MRS) features and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tumour dissemination. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twelve patients with PNETs were reviewed: nine with medulloblastoma and three with supratentorial PNETs (SPNETs). The MRI examination included contrast-enhanced intracranial and spinal MRI, and in some patients, gradient recalled echo, fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), DWI, and MRS. RESULTS: All PNETs were either hypointense or isointense on T1-weighted images. Ten of the 12 tumours were either isointense or hypointense on T2-weighted images, and 11 were isointense on FLAIR images. Patients with SPNETs had large, vascular and haemorrhagic tumours. On DWI, all PNETs were hyperintense and had restricted apparent diffusion coefficient. MRS (two patients with medulloblastoma and one with a SPNET), showed elevated choline, decreased N-acetyl aspartate, and a small taurine peak in all three patients. Intraspinal tumour dissemination, visible as uniform or nodular enhancement coating the conus medullaris, was detected in six of 12 patients, two of whom also had intracranial dissemination. CONCLUSION: PNETs have a characteristic imaging appearance on FLAIR, DWI and MRS, which may help in differentiating these highly cellular neoplasms from other tumours. There is CSF tumour dissemination in a high proportion of patients, and spinal imaging is important for disease staging and to formulate treatment protocols.
Subject(s)
Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Medulloblastoma/diagnosis , Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive/diagnosis , Supratentorial Neoplasms/diagnosis , Aspartic Acid/analogs & derivatives , Aspartic Acid/analysis , Cerebrospinal Fluid , Child , Child, Preschool , Choline/analysis , Creatine/analysis , Databases, Factual , Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Female , Gadolinium DTPA , Humans , Image Enhancement , Infant , Lactic Acid/analysis , Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy , Male , Neoplasm Metastasis , Taurine/analysisABSTRACT
A 40-year-old man presented with recent increase in size of a painless long-standing soft mass over the right shoulder. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging showed a lobulated mass located within the subcutaneous layer overlying the deltoid muscle. It was homogeneously T1-hyperintense, T2-hyperintense, and non-enhancing. Signal characteristics were those of a simple lipoma. The diagnosis was confirmed on histopathological examination of the excised specimen. Musculoskeletal lipomas are discussed, with emphasis on their characteristic appearances on various imaging modalities, and illustrated by additional examples.
Subject(s)
Lipoma/diagnosis , Shoulder , Soft Tissue Neoplasms/diagnosis , Adult , Humans , Lipoma/surgery , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Soft Tissue Neoplasms/surgeryABSTRACT
Tumours occurring in the region of the pineal gland are uncommon in paediatric patients but may manifest with typical signs and symptoms. A 6-year-old boy with precocious puberty caused by a germinoma of the pineal gland detected on skull radiographs and confirmed on MR imaging is reported. The different types of tumours occurring in the region of the pineal gland and their imaging findings are discussed.
