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Medulloblastoma and gliomatosis cerebri: rare brain tumors in multiple sclerosis patients

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Abstract

The simultaneous appearance of both multiple sclerosis (MS) and central nervous system (CNS) tumors is relatively uncommon. Whether the co-existence of two diseases is due to chance alone or the result of a causal relationship is still a matter of debate. There is also controversy about the effect of long-term exposure of MS patients to immunomodulatory drugs on the incidence of cancer. This paper reports two cases of rare CNS tumors (i.e., medulloblastoma and gliomatosis cerebri) in adult MS patients. Our cases emphasize that when uncommon neurological features appear in patients with MS, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ought to be done and brain biopsy should be considered to exclude a concomitant CNS disorder. These procedures are essential for the differential diagnosis and early treatment.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the contribution of Luis Monteiro, PhD, Elsa Silva and Isabel Ribeiro, MD (neurologist and neurosurgeon in our center). Dr. Heike Nesbit provided medical writing support for preparation of the manuscript on behalf of Merck Serono.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Serviço de Neurologia, Largo do Prof Abel Salazar, Centro Hospitalar do Porto/Hospital de Santo António, 4099-001, Porto, Portugal

    Ana Alexandra Duarte Martins da Silva & Ricardo Jorge Ferreira Taipa

  2. Departamento de Doenças do Sistema Nervoso e Orgãos dos Sentidos, Unidade de Neuropsicologia, Centro Hospitalar do Porto/Hospital de Santo António, 4099-001, Porto, Portugal

    Sara Marta Pereira dos Santos Cavaco

  3. Servico de Neurorradiologia, Centro Hospitalar do Porto/Hospital de Santo António, 4099-001, Porto, Portugal

    Pedro Ricardo Soares Pinto

  4. Unidade de Neuropatologia, Centro Hospitalar do Porto/Hospital de Santo António, 4099-001, Porto, Portugal

    Manuel Jorge Rocha Melo Pires

Authors
  1. Ana Alexandra Duarte Martins da Silva
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  2. Sara Marta Pereira dos Santos Cavaco
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  3. Ricardo Jorge Ferreira Taipa
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  4. Pedro Ricardo Soares Pinto
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  5. Manuel Jorge Rocha Melo Pires
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Correspondence to Ana Alexandra Duarte Martins da Silva.

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da Silva, A.A.D.M., dos Santos Cavaco, S.M.P., Taipa, R.J.F. et al. Medulloblastoma and gliomatosis cerebri: rare brain tumors in multiple sclerosis patients. Neurol Sci 32, 893–897 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-010-0468-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-010-0468-1

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