• Frederik Kinnen, Steffen K Fleck, Jörg Baldauf, Volkmar Hans, Georg Daeschlein, Eiko Rathmann, SchroederHenry W SHWSDepartment of Neurosurgery, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany., and Sascha Marx.
• Department of Neurosurgery, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
• World Neurosurg. 2019 Apr 1; 124: 228236228-236.

BackgroundPrimary leptomeningeal melanocytic tumors of the central nervous system are rare and, especially in the spine, less frequent compared with other entities. There is no consensus regarding the best care of these tumors.Case DescriptionWe report 2 cases of primary leptomeningeal melanocytic tumors, 1 primary leptomeningeal melanoma (PLM) and 1 primary leptomeningeal melanocytoma (PLMC) of the upper cervical spine, and emphasize different surgical findings and clinical courses of these patients. A review of the literature according to primary leptomeningeal melanocytic tumors of the spine was done, especially to compare different treatment modalities in the younger history.ConclusionsPrimary melanocytic tumors of the spine are exceedingly rare. Before surgery it is difficult to make a correct diagnosis. Usually an unexpected intraoperative finding with consecutive histopathologic analyses leads to the final diagnosis. An accurate search for melanocytic tumors outside the central nervous system as a primary source is mandatory. PLMC has a better prognosis than PLM. There is no consensus regarding the adjuvant therapy, but patients with PLM should be given radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapeutic approaches as immune checkpoint blockade after surgery. Communicating hydrocephalus is highly associated with PLM, but may occur in PLMC as well.Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

4 keywords...

hide…