Sudden death due to a cystic lesion in the cerebellum

• We report an unusual autopsy case of cerebellar hemangioblastoma.
• The tumor in our case looked like just a slightly grayish discoloration.
• Cystic lesions in the CNS need to be carefully examined.

A middle-aged female patient with a depressive disorder presented to a mental hospital because of a 2-month worsening history of headache, dizziness, and nausea. The next morning, she was observed to be sleeping, but was then found dead 1 h later. Postmortem computed tomography and autopsy revealed a large cyst in the right cerebellar hemisphere, hydrocephalus, and transforaminal herniation. Careful observation revealed an approximately 0.4 cm × 0.8 cm slightly grayish discoloration in the cyst wall that was diagnosed as hemangioblastoma based on its histological features.Finally, we concluded that the cause of death in this case was attributable to the brain stem compression, which was caused by obstructive hydrocephalus secondary to the cystic hemangioblastoma in the cerebellum. The symptoms for 2 months before her death had most likely resulted from increased intracranial pressure. Hemangioblastomas usually appear as nodules in the wall of the cyst, but the tumor in our case looked like just a slightly grayish discoloration. Therefore, cystic lesions in the CNS need to be carefully examined.