CASE REPORT article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Neuro-Oncology and Neurosurgical Oncology
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1640238
Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor of the Thoracic Spine With Postoperative Recurrence and Intracranial Metastasis—A Review of the Literature
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Clinical Medicine, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, China
- 2Neurosurgery, Yantai Yuhuangding Hospital, Yantai, China
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Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are uncommon and biologically aggressive sarcomas. Although primary involvement of the thoracic spine is rare, the occurrence of intracranial metastasis typically indicates advanced-stage disease and portends a poor prognosis. We report a unique case of a 64-year-old man with a primary thoracic spinal MPNST that recurred three months after surgery and developed intracranial metastasis within two months. Initial imaging revealed a subdural lesion at the T11–T12 level. Postoperative histopathology confirmed MPNST with a Ki-67 index of 50%. Shortly after surgery, the tumor recurred locally and metastasized to the left parietal lobe. Histological examination of the intracranial lesion confirmed metastatic MPNST. This case highlights the potential for MPNST to metastasize to the brain via atypical routes, underscoring the importance of heightened clinical vigilance and the need for multimodal strategies to detect brain metastasis at an early stage.
Keywords: Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor, intradural tumor, Perineural invasion, Enneking-Appropriate Resection, EA Resection, Neuroaxis dissemination
Received: 03 Jun 2025; Accepted: 06 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: HongTao Zhang, doctorzht@163.com
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