Giant cell tumor of the skull: a case report and review of the literature

Giant cell tumors are benign lesions that typically occur at the epiphyses of long bones that typically present with pain or swelling. Most data on giant cell tumors in the skull consist of case reports, and many large series of giant cell tumors have no examples in the skull. We report a case of gi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Surgical neurology 2004-03, Vol.61 (3), p.274-277
Main Authors: Harris, Anthony E, Beckner, Marie E, Barnes, Leon, Kassam, Amin, Horowitz, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Biomarkers, Tumor - analysis
Craniotomy
Female
Giant cell tumor
Giant Cell Tumor of Bone - diagnostic imaging
Giant Cell Tumor of Bone - pathology
Giant Cell Tumor of Bone - surgery
Humans
Immunoenzyme Techniques
Medical sciences
Neurosurgery
Occipital Bone - diagnostic imaging
Occipital Bone - pathology
Occipital Bone - surgery
Skull Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging
Skull Neoplasms - pathology
Skull Neoplasms - surgery
skull tumor
Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
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Summary:Giant cell tumors are benign lesions that typically occur at the epiphyses of long bones that typically present with pain or swelling. Most data on giant cell tumors in the skull consist of case reports, and many large series of giant cell tumors have no examples in the skull. We report a case of giant cell tumor of the skull and review the literature on these lesions. A 24-year-old woman presented with localized tenderness and mild swelling over the left inferior parietal and occipital bones. She was neurologically intact with a nonmobile, tender, palpable mass over the left subocciptal area. A computed tomography (CT) scan showed a radiolucent, expansile, lytic lesion involving the left occipital bone. The patient underwent a left occipital craniectomy with resection of the bone and epidural mass. Permanent histopathologic sections and immunostains revealed a giant cell tumor. Giant cell tumors are generally benign, locally aggressive lesions for which surgical excision is the treatment of choice. This report contributes to the scarce literature on these tumors in the skull.
ISSN:0090-3019
1879-3339
DOI:10.1016/S0090-3019(03)00428-2