Primary Ewing's sarcoma/peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor at the vertex of the skull with elevated serum carcinoembryonic antigen: case report

J Neurooncol. 2001 Apr;52(2):173-80. doi: 10.1023/a:1010676521149.

Abstract

A primary Ewing's sarcoma arising in the skull is relatively rare. Although a small number of case reports noted elevated carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in patients with primary central nervous system (CNS) neoplasms, there is no report of Ewing's sarcoma/peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) with elevated serum levels of CEA. A 7-year-old boy who had episodes of headache and vomiting had noticed a solid mass in the vertex of the head. Imaging studies revealed a large intra- and extracranial tumor at the vertex of the skull. Hematological examination demonstrated high serum levels of CEA: 91.09 ng/ml. The patient initially underwent an embolization of the bilateral middle meningeal arteries with Gelfoam particles. One week later, the patient was operated on and a subtotal resection of the tumor was performed. On histopathological and molecular genetic examination, the tumor was diagnosed as a Ewing's sarcoma/peripheral PNET. Immunohistochemical study showed strongly positive staining for CEA in the tumor cells. The serum level of CEA was normalized at 0.83 ng/ml after the tumor was removed and the boy underwent radiotherapy and 3 courses of chemotherapy. This is the first reported case of a primary Ewing's sarcoma/peripheral PNET at the vertex of the skull with elevated serum CEA.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Carcinoembryonic Antigen / analysis
  • Carcinoembryonic Antigen / blood*
  • Child
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive / chemistry
  • Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive / genetics
  • Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive / pathology*
  • Sarcoma, Ewing / chemistry
  • Sarcoma, Ewing / genetics
  • Sarcoma, Ewing / pathology*
  • Skull Neoplasms / chemistry
  • Skull Neoplasms / genetics
  • Skull Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Translocation, Genetic

Substances

  • Carcinoembryonic Antigen