Abstract
Subependymomas are benign intraventricular tumors with an indolent growth pattern, which are usually asymptomatic, and most commonly occur in the fourth and lateral ventricles. When symptomatic, subependymomas often obstruct critical portions of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pathway, causing hydrocephalus, and range from 3 cm to 5 cm in size. We report a case of an unusually massive subependymoma of the lateral ventricles treated with subtotal resection, ventriculoperitoneal shunt, and post-surgical radiation. The clinical course, radiographic and pathologic characteristics of this massive intraventricular subependymoma are discussed, as well as the differential diagnosis of lateral ventricular masses and a review of the literature concerning subependymomas.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Scheinker IM (1945) Subependymoma: a newly recognized tumor of subependymal derivation. J Neurosurg 2:232–240
Scheithauer BW (1978) Symptomatic subependymoma: report of 21 cases with review of the literature. J Neurosurg 49:689–696
Jooma R, Torrens MJ, Bradshaw J, Brownell B (1985) Subependymomas of the fourth ventricle: surgical treatment in 12 cases. J Neurosurg 62:508–512
Artico M, Bardella L, Ciappetta P, Raco A (1989) Surgical treatment of subependymomas of the central nervous system: report of 8 cases and review of the literature. Acta Neurochir 98:25–31
Lombardi D, Scheithauer BW, Meyer FB, Forbes GS, Shaw EG, Gibney DJ, Katzmann JA (1991) Symptomatic subependymoma: a clinicopathological and flow cytometric study. J Neurosurg 75:583–588
Chiechi MV, Smirniotopoulos JG, Jones RV (1995) Intracranial subependymomas: CT and MR imaging features in 24 cases. Am J Roentgenol 165:1245–1250
Maiuri F, Gangemi M, Iaconetta G, Signorelli F, Del Basso De Caro M (1997) Symptomatic subependymomas of the lateral ventricles. Report of eight cases. Clin Neurol Neurosur 99:17–22
Prayson RA, Suh JH (1999) Subependymomas: clinicopathologic study of 14 tumors, including comparative MIB-1 immunohistochemical analysis with other ependymal neoplasms. Arch Pathol Lab Med 123:306–309
Im SH, Paek SH, Choi YL, Chi JG, Kim DG, Jung HW, Cho BK (2003) Clinicopathological study of seven cases of symptomatic supratentorial subependymoma. J Neuro-Oncol 61:57–67
Koeller KK, Sandberg GD (2002) Cerebral intraventricular neoplasms: radiologic–pathologic correlation. Radiographics 22:1473–1505
Matsumara A, Ahyai A, Hori A, Schaake T (1989) Intracerebral subependymomas: clinical and neuropathological analyses with special reference to the possible existence of a less benign variant. Acta Neurochir 96:15–25
Fu Y, Chen AT, Kay S, Young H (1974) Is subependymoma (subependymal glomerate astrocytoma) an astroctyoma or ependymoma? A comparative ultrastructural and tissue culture study. Cancer 34:1992–2008
Azzarelli B, Rekate HL, Roessmann U (1977) Subependymoma: a case report with ultrastructural study. Acta Neuropathol 40:279–282
Moss TH (1984) Observation on the nature of subependymoma: an electron microscopic study. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 10:63–75
Friede RL, Pollak A (1978) The cytogenetic basis for classifying ependymomas. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 37:103–118
Lobato RD, Sarabia M, Castro S, Esparza J, Cordobes F, Portillo JM, Rivas JJ (1986) Symptomatic subependymoma: report of four new cases studied with computed tomography and review of the literature. Neurosurgery 19:594–598
Nishio S, Morioka T, Mihara F, Fukui M (2000) Subependymoma of the lateral ventricles. Neurosurg Rev 23:98–103
Kim DG, Han MH, Lee SH, Chi JG, Cho KJ, Kim JH, Choi KS, Han DH (1993) MRI of intracranial subependymoma: report of a case. Neuroradiology 35:185–186
Hoeffel C, Boukobza M, Polivka M, Lot G, Guichard JP, Lafitte F, Reizine D, Merland JJ (1995) MR manifestations of subependymomas. Am J Neuroradiol 16:2121–2129
Silverstein JE, Lenchik L, Stanciu MG, Shimkin PM (1995) MRI of intracranial subependymomas. J Comput Assist Tomogr 19:264–267
Yamasaki T, Kikuchi H, Higashi T, Yamabe H, Moritake K (1990) Two surgically cured cases of subependymoma with emphasis on magnetic resonance imaging. Surg Neurol 33:329–335
Jelinek J, Smirniotopoulos JG, Parisi JE, Kanzer M (1990) Lateral ventricular neoplasms of the brain: differential diagnosis based on clinical, CT, and MR findings. Am J Roentgenol 155:365–372
Seol HJ, Hwang SK, Choi YL, Chi JG, Jung HW (2003) A case of recurrent subependymoma with subependymal seeding: case report. J Neuro-Oncol 62: 315–320
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rath, T., Sundgren, P., Brahma, B. et al. Massive symptomatic subependymoma of the lateral ventricles: case report and review of the literature. Neuroradiology 47, 183–188 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-005-1342-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-005-1342-3