Combined paraganglioma and glioma of conus medullaris and cauda equina

A mixed paraganglioma and glioma occurred in the conus medullaris and cauda equina of a woman. The tumor was subdural, encapsulated, and vascular. It was first manifested with symptoms and signs of compression of the cauda equina when she was 19 years of age and was excised when she was 24. The tumor was attached to the conus medullaris, the dura mater, and a nerve root of the cauda equina. Striking light and dark cells with an organoid arrangement mingled with a few glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive neuroglia forming a combined paraganglioma and glioma. Twenty-three paragangliomas were reported in the literature including the present case. The sex and age of recorded 19 patients demonstrated ten males and nine females with an average age of 46.3 years. Twenty tumors were subdurally situated at the conus medullaris and cauda equina. Three neoplasms were epidural and thoracic in location.