Anaplastic astrocytoma following radiation for a glomus jugular tumor

Evaluation of radiation therapy for a given neoplasm includes consideration of possible treatment complications as well as potential benefit. A 43-year-old male with a glomus jugular tumor or the right middle ear had received 4480 rad to the right middle and inner ear and temporal bone. Eight years later, he developed an anaplastic astrocytoma of the right cerebellar hemisphere. At this time a third neoplasm, a left carotid body tumor, was demonstrated angiographically. Although radiation can be implicated in the genesis of the glial neoplasm, the presence of two neural crest derived tumors suggests that a lowered threshold for neoplastic transformation in neuroectodermal cells may have been an additional factor. Long-term follow-up of large numbers of patients with glomus jugulare tumors will be necessary to determine if multiple paragangliomas predispose to radiation-associated gliomas.