Cerebellar liponeurocytoma: a case-report

Cerebellar liponeurocytoma is a rare cerebellar tumor, with only about 20 cases reported under many different names. Although the few cases described in the literature support the relatively benign nature of this lesion, the optimum treatment strategy and long-term behavior still have to be defined. A 39-year old man presented with a 6-month history of headache and gait disturbance. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies disclosed a midline cerebellar mass. Gross total resection of the tumor was accomplished through a suboccipital craniotomy. The histopathological diagnosis was cerebellar liponeurocytoma. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged six days after the surgery. No radiotherapy was given. Cerebellar liponeurocytoma is a rare, benign neuroepithelial tumor that occurs exclusively in the cerebellum of adults. The morphological appearance of this neoplasm can be confused with that of oligodendroglioma, neurocytoma, ependymoma, medulloblastoma, solid hemangioblastoma and metastatic carcinomas. This tumor should be added to the differential diagnosis of mass lesions of the posterior fossa. The small number of patients with reported cerebellar liponeurocytomas limits our understanding of the tumor's natural history. Most of the information available from case reports indicates that this tumor has benign biological behavior. The available follow-up data suggest a favorable prognosis, but this has yet to be confirmed in a larger series of cases.