Spinal Cord Compression Caused by Fibroblastic Reticular Cell Tumor (FRCT) Originating from Thoracic Spine

The authors present the first reported case of a fibroblastic reticular cell tumor (FRCT) presenting with spinal cord compression. FRCTs are the rarest subset of dendritic cell tumors, a specific group of hematologic malignancies. FRCTs reportedly behave similar to low-grade sarcomas as opposed to malignant tumors.

A 45-year-old female patient presented with a 2-and-a-half week history of a flu-like illness and 1 week history of lower limb imbalance. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an extradural lesion at T3/4 compressing the spinal cord. Initially, the patient was presumed to have metastatic spinal cord compression, and she underwent a decompressive thoracic laminectomy with debulking of the lesion with follow-up adjuvant radiotherapy. However, histology identified a unique primary FRCT originating from spine, not secondary metastatic spinal cord compression. There were no histologically aggressive features likely contributing to the favorable outcome following surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy. Her postoperative recovery was unremarkable, and she recovered fully.

Although rare, we report the first case of FRCT originating in the spine causing spinal cord compression. The clinical presentation of the case, histologic features of FRCT, and the treatment options are reviewed.