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Metastasis of intracranial germinoma through a ventriculoperitoneal shunt
Author(s) -
Haimovic Itzhak C.,
Sharer Leroy,
Hyman Roger A.,
Beresford H. Richard
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19810815)48:4<1033::aid-cncr2820480430>3.0.co;2-r
Subject(s) - medicine , germinoma , hydrocephalus , radiation therapy , shunt (medical) , cerebrospinal fluid , pinealoma , biopsy , metastasis , radiology , surgery , pathology , cancer
A young man developed a tumor in the pineal region that grew along ventricular surfaces and caused obstructive hydrocephalus. Cytologic examination of cerebrospinal fluid demonstrated malignant cells consistent with germinoma. Following a ventriculoperitoneal shunt and radiotherapy, the tumor and the hydrocephalus regressed. Three years later, an intraperitoneal tumor appeared that was diagnosed by transcutaneous biopsy specimen as a germinoma. The abdominal germinoma also regressed after radiotherapy. While extracranial metastases of intracranial germinomas via shunts are probably rare, their occurrence, as exemplified by this case, argues for including protective filters in the shunts.