Medulloblastoma Presenting With Tentorial "Dural-Tail" Sign: is the "Dural-Tail" Sign Specific for Meningioma?

Department

neurosurgery

Document Type

Article

Abstract

To the best of our knowledge, the association of a medulloblastoma with a \"dural-tail\" sign has not been previously reported. A 24-year-old male developed severe headaches and right-sided dysmetria that worsened over 1 month. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the brain demonstrated a heterogeneously enhancing lesion in the posterior fossa. The lesion appeared to be tentorially based and exhibited a characteristic \"dural-tail\" sign, which is considered pathognomonic for meningioma. Cerebellar tonsil ectopia and hydrocephalus were also present. The presumptive diagnosis of tentorial meningioma was made. The lesion was resected by a posterior fossa approach. At surgery, the appearance of the tumor was inconsistent with the diagnosis of meningioma, and histopathologic evaluation yielded the diagnosis of medulloblastoma. This case and the literature demonstrate that malignant tumors can present with the characteristic MR imaging appearance of a meningioma. This possibility must be considered when treatment is planned, especially if a nonoperative course is favored.

Publication Date

1998

Publication Title

Skull Base

ISSN

1531-5010

Volume

8

Issue

4

First Page

233

Last Page

236

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1055/s-2008-1058190

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