Multiple primary brain tumors of different histological types--report of two cases

Simultaneous development of histologically different primary brain tumors aside from phacomatoses or previous irradiation is rare, and its preoperative diagnosis is still difficult. We report two such cases, a 49-year-old male with an acoustic neurinoma and a cerebellar hemangioblastoma and a 69-year-old female with a parietal convexity meningioma and an ipsilateral frontal lobe astrocytoma. The tumors in the first case developed closely, so some local stimulation probably acted as a developmental factor. However, the tumors in the second case developed in distant areas and were considered coincidental.