Coexistence between meningioma and tuberculosis: case report

Intracranial tuberculoma generally presents as either solitary or multiple lesions in the brain parenchyma. These are characterized by a ring-enhancing area on either computerized tomography scans or magnetic resonance images. A 66 year-old female with a history of breast carcinoma at 41 years, treated with radical mastectomy and radio and chemotherapy, and rheumatoid arthritis, treated in the last 10 years, presented two months ago with occipital headache, nausea, cerebellar syndrome, alterations of speech, and memory loss. The TC scan showed occipital enhancement by contrast and surrounded by oedema, suggesting metastasis. Histology showed a benign meningioma with many multinuclear giant cells, granulomas, and central caseating necrosis. In addition, some classic plasma cells, mastocytes, and lymphocytes were also detected. The authors describe the unusual case of coexistence between an occipital meningioma and tuberculosis in the same area that resembled metastasis.