A case of sudden death by undiagnosed glioblastoma multiforme

The incidence of sudden death due to undiagnosed primary intracranial tumor is low in forensic autopsy. The cause of death in a 20-year-old male found dead in his dormitory room was glioblastoma multiforme in the left temporal lobe. The direct cause of death was hemorrhage in the tumor. Three nights before the discovery of his body, he had several episodes of vomiting and had been absent from work since that time. On discovery of the body, it was thought that he had been dead for about 2 days. About 4 months before his death, he consulted an eye doctor for "fatigue of the eyes" and 1 month thereafter he visited the neurosurgical department of a hospital complaining headache. A diagnosis of tension headache was made; the possibility of brain tumor appears not to have been considered. A causal relationship between head trauma and hemorrhage in the tumor was excluded based on the circumstantial evidence.