Ganglioglioma of the spinal cord: Report of two cases and review of literature

Natural history and neuro-oncological approach in spinal gangliogliomas: a systematic review

To describe the natural history of spinal gangliogliomas (GG) in order to determine the most appropriate neuro-oncological management. A Medline search for relevant publications up to July 2023 using the key phrase "ganglioglioma spinal" and "ganglioglioma posterior fossa" led to the retrieval of 178 studies. This corpus provided the basis for the present review. As an initial selection step, the following inclusion criteria were adopted: (i) series and case reports on spinal GG; (ii) clinical outcomes were reported specifically for GG; (iii) GG was the only pathological diagnosis for the evaluation of the tumor; (iv) papers written only in English was evaluated; and (v) papers describing each case in the series were included. The World Health Organization (WHO) 2021 grading criteria for gangliogliomas were applied. A total of 107 tumors were evaluated (63 from male patients and 44 from female patients; 1.43 male/1.0 female ratio, mean age 18.34 ± 15.84 years). The most common site was the cervical spine, accounting for 43 cases (40.18%); GTR was performed in 35 cases (32.71%) and STR in 71 cases (66.35%), while this information was not reported in 1 case (0.94%). 8 deaths were reported (7.47%) involving 2 males (25%) and 6 females (75%) aged 4-78 years (mean 34.27 ± 18.22) years. GGs located on the spine displayed the same gender ratio as these tumors in general. The most frequent symptom was pain and motor impairment, while the most prevalent location was the cervical spinal cord. GTR of the tumor posed a challenge for neurosurgeons, due to the difficulty of resecting the lesion without damaging the spinal eloquent area, explaining the lower rate of cure for this tumor type.

Intramedullary spinal cord ganglioglioma: Case report and comparative literature review

INTRODUCTION

Intramedullary spinal cord gangliogliomas (ISCGGs) account for 35-40% of all intramedullary tumors in children. These tumors have a different algorithm for treatment and prognosis than other medullary tumors, such as astrocytomas and spinal ependymomas. The objective of the study was to review the literature and examine an approach to diagnosing and treating this tumor based on a case report of ISCGG diagnosed at our center.

METHOD

An exhaustive review of cases of ISCGG published via the PubMed-NCBI platform between 1911 and 2018 was performed, and each patient's epidemiological characteristics, tumor location, symptoms, radiological diagnosis and treatment were appended.

RESULTS

A total of 167 cases of ISCGG were found, including our own. In our sample, 52% of patients were female and the most commonly affected age group was 0-9 years of age (35% of patients). Motor deficit has been found to be the main symptom in a larger proportion of adults patients versus pediatric patients. On X-ray, this tumor shows greater hyperintensity and contrast uptake than astrocytomas and ependymomas, as well as a higher percentage of intratumoral cysts. The BRAF^V600E mutation is less common in spinal as opposed to supratentorial gangliogliomas. Surgery with complete resection is the treatment of choice. Only 19% of the patients in the sample received radiotherapy, and only 9% received chemotherapy as their only line of treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

ISCGGs are common in the pediatric population and require strong suspicion for proper diagnosis and treatment, as the risk of recurrence of ISCGGs is 3 times greater than that of supratentorial gangliogliomas.

Prolonged Response Induced by Single Agent Vemurafenib in a BRAF V600E Spinal Ganglioglioma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Spinal ganglioglioma is a rare low-grade, slow-growing tumor of the central nervous system affecting mostly children and young adults. After surgery, some patients show tumor recurrence and/or malignant transformation. Gangliogliomas harbor molecular deficiencies such as mutations in the B-rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma (BRAF) gene, resulting in activation of a downstream signaling pathway and cancer development. Vemurafenib is a BRAF inhibitor used to treat patients with BRAF V600E-mutated cancer. Although a few studies have reported the clinical responses in gangliogliomas, the sequence and duration of treatment have not been established. We describe a case of an adult with a progressive BRAF V600E mutant spinal cord ganglioglioma 9 years after surgery who was treated with vemurafenib. This treatment resulted in a partial response within 2 months, which was sustained for more than a year. The patient then decided to stop treatment because of side effects. Despite this decision, the tumor showed no sign of progression 21 months after treatment discontinuation. This is the first reported case of a response to vemurafenib in an adult with progressive spinal cord BRAF V600E-mutated ganglioglioma which was sustained after treatment discontinuation.

Spinal Intramedullary Ganglioglioma in Children: An Unusual Location of a Common Pediatric Tumor

Ganglioglioma is a common CNS tumor in children, mostly found in the temporal lobe, causing epilepsy. Spinal gangliogliomas are very rare, accounting for 1.1% of all intramedullary spinal tumors. The management principles and the need for adjuvant therapy are not yet well defined in this cohort. BRAF V600E mutation in spinal ganglioglioma has been described in a few series recently. In this report, we describe 3 children with spinal ganglioglioma at different locations, and their expression of BRAF V600E mutation and follow-up. In addition, we review the recent literature on pediatric spinal ganglioglioma management.

Ganglioglioma of conus medullaris in a patient of neurofibromatosis type 1: A novel association?

Ganglioglioma of the conus region is quite rare with only 12 reported cases. Ganglioglioma shares biologic features with neurofibromatosis leading to suggestions that the co-existence of the two diseases may be more than coincidental. We report a case of ganglioglioma of the conus medullaris in a patient of neurofibromatosis and explore the possible association of the two diseases.

Ganglioglioma of the Spinal Cord

Ganglioglioma is a rare tumor consisting of neoplastic glial and neuronal elements. It accounts for only 0.5% of all primary central nervous system (CNS) neoplasms. We report an unusual case of extensive intramedullary thoracic spinal cord ganglioglioma in a 14-month-old girl who underwent subtotal resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. The epidemiology, histopathologic features, imaging findings, treatment, and prognosis are subsequently reviewed.

Intramedullary gangliogliomas: clinical features, surgical outcomes, and neuropathic scoliosis

Intramedullary spinal cord gangliogliomas are rare tumors composed of glial components and ganglion cells. These gangliogliomas are generally considered as slow-growing tumors, corresponding histologically to WHO grade I or II. There are few reports of large case series of intramedullary spinal cord gangliogliomas from a single center. We retrospectively reviewed a consecutive series of 18 patients with pathologically diagnosed ganglioglioma. Clinical manifestations, radiological features, treatment and follow-up data, and concomitant scoliosis were investigated. The mean age at diagnosis was 27.5 years, with a slight female predominance. The primary clinical symptoms were sensorimotor deficits. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging manifestations varied considerably. Some associated, but not necessary, features were found, such as young age at onset, large tumor dimension, and bony changes. Scoliosis was observed in seven patients. Remnant tumor progression was observed in five patients during the follow-up period, and no deaths occurred. The last neurological evaluation showed functional improvement from preoperative status in five patients. Differential diagnosis of ganglioglioma based on MR images alone is challenging, but the combination of some characteristic features can be helpful. An accurate diagnosis of ganglioglioma depends on pathological criteria. Despite the benign course of ganglioglioma, considerable growth may affect its resectability and prognosis. The extent of resection should be meticulously planned, and the potential risk of recurrence and neurological deterioration should be evaluated. The concomitant scoliosis is noteworthy.

Early surgical intervention in adult patients with ganglioglioma is associated with improved clinical seizure outcomes

Gangliogliomas are rare central nervous system tumors, most commonly affecting children and young adults. Chronic seizure and epilepsy are the most frequent presentation of patients with gangliogliomas. In this report, we review the modern literature regarding the effects of early surgical intervention on the clinical outcome of patients with ganglioglioma. A boolean search of PubMed using key words "ganglioglioma", "adult", "seizure control", "treatment", "surgical intervention", and "observation", alone and in combination was performed. The inclusion criteria for articles were that: (i) clinical outcomes were reported specifically for gangliogliomas; (ii) data were reported for adult patients older than the age of 18 years; (iii) treatment data were included for the treatment of gangliogliomas; and (iv) ganglioglioma was the only pathological diagnosis for the evaluation of the tumor. Data were analyzed as a whole then stratified into two groups: early and late treatment intervention. The query identified a total of 99 articles including 1,089 cases of ganglioglioma meeting our inclusion and exclusion criteria. There was a 55% prevalence of males, representing a statistically significant predilection (51-59%, 95% confidence interval). Seizure control was significantly improved when surgical intervention occurred less than 3 years after symptom onset (78% versus 48%; p = 0.0001). Ganglioglioma in adults represents a rare group of tumors, and our systematic analysis suggests a higher prevalence in males. Our findings also support that an early surgical intervention is significantly associated with improved clinical seizure control.

Ganglioglioma of conus medullaris

Gangliogliomas are glioneuronal tumours of the young, and occur more frequently supratentorially. Among those uncommon cases in the spinal cord, the conus medullaris is an extremely rare site. We reviewed the literature of such cases and report another case of a ganglioglioma of the conus in a 13-year-old boy with an insidious sensory sensitive and motor deficit of the right lower limb. Subtotal resection was accomplished with no recurrence after two years of follow-up. As for the supratentorial locations, the extent of surgical resection is the main prognostic factor for gangliogliomas of the spinal cord, and they should be considered in the differential diagnosis of intramedullar neoplasm.