The MRI manifestations of intramedullary germinoma of the spinal cord:a case report and review of the literature

Primary germinoma in the spinal cord is very rare. Preoperative diagnosis is important because germinomas are sensitive to radiation therapy and chemotherapy so that treatment trends and prognosis differ from other intramedullary spinal cord tumors. Preoperative radiologic diagnosis is very difficult because of this rarity. In this case a 22-year-old woman with a 4-month history of gradual numbness and weakness of both lower extremities was found to have a solid tumor in the thoracic cord between the T9 and T11 vertebral bodies. No other neoplastic lesion was found inside or outside the central nervous system. The patient underwent surgery, and the intramedullary lesion was almost totally resected. Serum HCG was elevated postoperatively without pregnancy. The pathological diagnosis was conclusively that of a germinoma. The previous 23 cases of primary spinal cord germinoma were reviewed for comparison.