Anaplastic oligodendroglioma presenting with drop metastases in the cauda equina

We report a case of 67-year-old woman who after 1 month of severe low back and legs pain developed symptoms of raised intracranial pressure. A spinal cord MRI showed multiple intradural nodular lesions at the level of the cauda equina, a MRI of the brain showed an intraventricular brain tumor. The histopathological diagnosis of both surgically treated lesions was anaplastic oligodendroglioma. The choices adopted in planning diagnostic and therapeutical procedures are discussed. The importance of the clinical and neuroradiological data in the diagnosis is stressed. Pathophysiology of the seeding of intracranial tumours via the cerebrospinal fluid is reviewed.