Skull Base 2003; 13(3): 159-166
DOI: 10.1055/s-2003-43326
Copyright © 2003 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA. Tel.: +1(212) 584-4662

Primary Malignant Cerebellopontine Angle Melanoma Presenting as a Presumed Meningioma: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Peter Kan1 , Clough Shelton2 , Jeannette Townsend3 , Randy Jensen1
  • 1Department of Neurosurgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
  • 2Department of Surgery, Division of Otolargyngology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
  • 3Department of Pathology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
18 May 2004 (online)

ABSTRACT

Primary intracranial melanomas are rare, especially in the primary cerebellopontine angle. We describe a patient with a presumed jugular foramen meningioma that was found to be of melanotic origin at surgery. We followed this 26-year-old woman with mild ataxia with serial imaging for 18 months after the initial discovery of a cerebellopontine angle extra-axial mass. She developed worsening symptoms of ataxia, dysphagia, and right-sided hearing loss. Magnetic resonance imaging showed an interval increase in size of the mass. The lesion was thought to be a meningioma with a dural tail that extended into the jugular foramen and hypoglossal canal. She underwent preoperative angiography and attempted tumor embolization, followed by resection via a transcochlear infratemporal approach. At surgery the lesion was found to be heavily pigmented. Pathological analysis was consistent with a low-grade melanoma. No primary extracranial site was identified. One year after surgery the patient remains free of systemic disease or recurrence.

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