A rare case of central nervous system pancreatoblastoma metastasis: illustrative case

Pancreatoblastoma is a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas, occurring usually in children and rarely in adults. Treatment consists of surgery with a variable combination of adjuvant therapies. Liver metastases are common, whereas brain diffusion is exceptionally rare.

The authors report the case of a 42-year-old man with a 16-year history of metastatic pancreatoblastoma, previously treated with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, demonstrating a partial response. He presented with headache and dizziness, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a cerebellar lesion. A craniotomy was performed with complete tumor removal, and the postoperative course was uneventful. Brain MRI showed gross-total resection of the lesion, and the patient was discharged with an improvement of the preoperative symptoms. Histopathological analysis confirmed the diagnosis of metastasis from pancreatoblastoma. The patient received adjuvant stereotactic radiotherapy and showed further clinical improvement at the last follow-up.

Brain metastases from pancreatoblastoma are exceptionally rare and poorly described in the literature. There is no standard therapy for this condition; hence, patients usually undergo treatments similar to those for other central nervous system metastases. All the described patients have had good clinical outcomes yet short-term follow-ups; therefore, further investigations are needed to better understand the best treatments for this condition. https://thejns.org/doi/10.3171/CASE23764.