Journal of Medical Case Reports (Jun 2009)

Gliomatosis cerebri type II: two case reports

  • D'Urso Pietro Ivo,
  • D'Urso Oscar Fernando,
  • Marsigliante Santo,
  • Storelli Carlo,
  • Distante Alessandro,
  • Sanguedolce Francesca,
  • Cimmino Antonia,
  • Luzi Giuseppe,
  • Gianfreda Cosimo Damiano,
  • Montinaro Antonio,
  • Ciappetta Pasqualino

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-1947-0003-0000007225
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 3, no. 1
p. 7225

Abstract

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Abstract Introduction Two types of gliomatosis cerebri exist: Type I and Type II. We report the results of a histological and genetic study of two cases of gliomatosis cerebri Type II, correlating these results with therapy and prognosis. Case presentation Two patients, a 52-year-old man (Patient 1) and a 76-year-old man (Patient 2) with gliomatosis cerebri II were admitted to our institution; they underwent surgical treatment and received radiotherapy and chemotherapy. At the 24-month follow-up, Patient 1 was still alive, while Patient 2 had died. The poor prognosis of Patient 2 was underlined by molecular analysis which showed that the angiogenesis related genes VCAM1 and VEGF were overexpressed, reflecting the high degree of neovascularization. Conclusion Genes involved in drug resistance and metallothioneins were highly expressed in Patient 2 and this, associated with unmethylated O6-methylguanine methyltransferase, can explain the lack of response to chemotherapy.