Intracerebral Oligodendroglioma with Metastatic Involvement of the Cauda Equina

The o l igodendroeyte was recognized by Robertson 25 in 1900 a n d n a m e d by Hor tega 24 in 19~1. In 19~4 z i t was sugges ted t h a t such cells form p a r t of certain in t racerebra l gliomas, and tumors composed ent irely of o l igodendrocytes were defined in 19~6. 2 Such tumors are re la t ively rare in t racrania l neoplasms and in Cush ing ' s s series of 20~3 verified cases there were ~7 (1.3 per cent) . Thei r incidence in t he gl ioma group is also relat ively rare. Cushing s found t h a t 3.1 per cent of his gliomas were ol igodendrogl iomas; Ztilch 31 3.1 per cent ; Courville 7 11 per cen t ; LSwenberg a n d Waggoner is 5 per cen t a n d R e y m o n d and Ringer tz 23 6.7 per cent. While mult iple ol igodendrogl iomas have been repor ted 1~ they occurred in the cerebral hemispheres. Bo th ex t racran ia l me tas tases a n d disseminat ion within t he ne rvous sys tem have been repor t ed wi thin t he gl ioma group, a-8,11,12,16,2~ Search of the l i tera ture , however , failed to reveal any case of ol igodendrogl ioma t h a t had metas ta sized or d i s semina ted to t he spinal axis and there produced a t u m o r of sufficient size and ac t iv i ty to necessi tate surgical removal .