Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the craniocervical junction; case report and review.

Abstract

Summary of Background Data. Epithelioid hemangioendotheliomas are uncommon vascular neoplasms and they are located in spinal region even rarely. In the literature, there has been no reported case of an epithelioid hemangioendothelioma located in the craniocervical junction.
Methods. A 31-year-old man presented with neck pain and restriction of neck movements. A cervical magnetic resonance imaging revealed a cranio-cervical junction tumor that caused posterior cervical cord compression.
Results: C1,2,3 total laminectomy and surgical excision of the tumor was performed. Postoperative external beam radiation was performed on the surgical field especially around the right vertebral artery. At 2 years of follow-up the patient reported no neurological deficits and was free from tumor recurrence.
Conclusions: Despite the fact that suggested therapy for epithelioid hemangioendotheliomas is total surgical excision, this may not always be accomplished due to the location of the lesion. In such cases where the lesion is very close to vital structures, a subtotal excision followed by external radiotherapy may be preferred.

 

DOI: 10.3944/AOTT.2016.15.0074
This abstract belongs to the un-edited version of the article and is only for informative purposes. Published version may differ from the current version.

Keywords

• Epithelioid hemangioendotheliomas; surgical excision; craniocervical junction; external beam irradiation