Contralateral recurrent cerebellar hemangioblastoma--a case report

Hemangioblastomas are regarded as benign neoplasms. They may recur in 3 to 10% of cases after apparently total excision. The opposite site recurrence is not found in the reported literature. A case is described in which, after successful removal of a cerebellar hemangioblastoma followed by two years of freedom from symptoms, developed a new growth of cerebellar hemangioblastoma contralaterally again. The histology of the tumor tissue is in no way different from that of a conventional hemangioblastoma. This case gives us some insights into the biological multipotentiality of cerebellar hemangioblastoma. We stress that close observation is absolutely necessary for this unique group of tumors, even after total removal.