CASE REPORTS   

Journal of Neurosurgical Sciences 2009 September;53(3):137-40

Copyright © 2010 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Parafalcine chondrosarcoma: report of a case and review of the literature

Boccardo M. ¹, Bavaresco E. ¹, Sola S. ², Vitali A. ² ✉

¹ “E.Tartarini” Centre of Neurosciences, Neurosurgical Unit, Santa Corona Hospital Pietra Ligure, Savona, Italy; ² Department of Pathology,Santa Corona Hospital Pietra Ligure, Savona, Italy

Intracranial chondrosarcomas are cartilaginous tumours that are extremely rare with an estimated incidence of less than 0.16% of all intracranial neoplasms. They arise from the skull base synchondrosis or exceptionally from cartilaginous rests within the dura mater. This kind of tumours presents clinical features mimicking meningiomas, with symptoms secondary to mass effect (increased intracranial pressure, local brain dysfunction, cranial nerve palsies) and seizures. Intracranial chondrosarcomas are more frequently seen between 3 months and 76 years of age, with a peak around the third decade, with an equal sex distribution. The authors report a case of a 32-year-old woman with a chondrosarcoma of the falx cerebri.