Post-traumatic glioblastoma multiforme: a case report

Malignant glioma development after trauma is a rare occurrence. We report a glioblastoma multiforme case that developed after a depressed skull fracture. A 65-year-old man was admitted because of right sided hemiplegia, epilepsy and changes in consciousness due to a malignant glial tumor. He had been operated on for a left calvarial depression fracture caused by cerebral laceration thirty-five years before. Radiologic imaging revealed a large contrast-enhanced mass lesion at the left frontotemporoparietal junction under the depression site. The patient underwent urgent surgery, and radical excision of the mass was achieved. The histopathologic diagnosis was a high-grade glial tumor. Although the possibility of a pre-existing tumor rather than a trauma-induced tumor is very high, the presented case suggests that traumatic cerebral lesions may also be a predisposing factor for the development of malignant glial tumors.