Coexistence of two different intraspinal tumors. Case report and review of the literature.

The occurrence of multiple neoplasms in the central nervous system is well documented. In von Recklinghausen's disease, patients frequently present with multiple neurofibromas and/or meningiomas at different sites within the spinal axis. However, the presence of multiple, histologically different spinal tumors in the absence of von Recklinghausen's disease is extremely rare. The authors describe a patient with progressive paraparesis in whom an extradural, malignant lesion and a separate benign, intradural tumor of the thoracic spine were found. The histological diagnosis of the intradural tumor was a pigmented schwannoma. On review of the literature, the authors found nine additional cases of coexisting, histologically different tumors of the spine. The majority of these tumors occurred in the thoracic spine and, not unexpectedly, intradural meningiomas and schwannomas prevailed. Except for the presumed same mesenchymal cell origin of neurinomas and meningiomas, no explanation for the coexisting, different spinal tumors could be determined.