Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor of the jugular foramen: case report

Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (pPNET) is a rare type of tumor, most commonly found in the limbs of children and young adults. The authors report an extremely rare case of pPNET located at the jugular foramen whose clinical course demonstrated rapid progression.

A 23-year-old man presented with a 2-month history of progressive hoarseness and dysphagia. The neuroradiological appearance of the lesion was a jugular foramen tumor.

The patient underwent a partial resection of the tumor through a far lateral suboccipital craniotomy. After surgery, the patient experienced an unexpected deterioration in consciousness. Magnetic resonance images on postoperative Day 18 revealed rapid and large expansion of the residual tumor into the posterior fossa. No adjuvant therapy was administered, and the patient died 6 weeks after diagnosis.

The pathological diagnosis of the surgical specimen was pPNET, according to the findings of hematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemical stainings. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of pPNET at the jugular foramen.