Case 098

History/Physical

History/Physical:

42-year-old right-handed male.

Progressive low back pain for three months.

There is a lesion with rim enhancement at the conus medullaris (arrows).

The mass is hyperintense on T2. There is edema in the conus medullaris and distortion of the cauda equina.

Diagnosis: Pilocytic astrocytoma

Hypocellular lesion with a variegated architecture.

Tumour cells exhibit elongated nuclei and long coarse fibrillary bipolar processes.

Rosenthal fibres are present (arrow).

Abundant expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein.