Myxopapillary Ependymoma

Abstract

Myxopapillary ependymoma is an infrequently encountered ependymoma variant that is important to distinguish from the ordinary type of ependymoma because of its generally better prognosis. Classically, myxopapillary ependymoma arises in the distal portion of the spinal cord and filum terminale region. Rarely, however, cases of myxopapillary ependymoma have been described arising in other regions of the spinal cord, intracranially, and in the subcutaneous soft tissues of the sacrococcygeal region (1–6). As documented in the single largest group of these tumors reported in 1985 by Sonneland et al, there appears to be a slight male predominance and mean age at presentation of 36.4 years (range 6–82 yrs) (1). The most common presenting symptoms are related to low back pain with or without sciatica which was reported in the 96% of the patients in Sonneland’s study (1). Interestingly, cerebrospinal fluid protein levels were markedly elevated in most patients in whom this was evaluated.