[Dorsal osseous hemangiopericytoma: a primary or metastatic tumour?].

BACKGROUND

Hemangiopericytomas are potentially malignant vascular tumours. They are usually located in the thighs, the buttocks and the retroperitoneum. Recurrence is very common and they produce metastases that are not usually intracranial within a period of not less than 24 months. Treatment involves surgery, accompanied by radiotherapy.

METHODS

A 32-year-old female who had been suffering from back pain for two months. The clinical examination was normal; however, the neuroimaging studies showed a lumbar tumour that involved the L1, and the patient was therefore submitted to a surgical intervention. The histopathological analysis showed the tumour to be a hemangiopericytoma. The patient received radiotherapy, and two months later presented recurrent vomiting and headaches. Computerised tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the head enabled us to diagnose an intracranial tumour and she underwent a new operation. A new histopathological analysis of the lesion confirmed that it was a meningeal hemangiopericytoma.

CONCLUSIONS

After reviewing the literature, this is the first case of a hemangiopericytoma in which the initial symptoms were caused by metastasis and not by the primary tumour.