Department of Spine Surgery, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, 150 Jimo Road, 200120, Shanghai, China.
BMC Neurol. 2023 Mar 8;23(1):100. doi: 10.1186/s12883-023-03147-0.
Intramedullary spinal cord metastasis (ISCM) of malignant tumors rarely happens. To the best of our knowledge, only five cases of ISCM from esophageal cancer have been reported in literature. We here report the sixth descripted case of ISCM from esophageal cancer.
A 68-year-old male presented with weakness of right limbs and localized neck pain two years after diagnosed esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The gadolinium enhanced Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of cervical spine showed a mixed-intense intramedullary tumor with typical more intense thin rim of peripheral enhancement in C4-C5. The patient died fifteen days after diagnosis of irreversible respiratory and circulatory failures. An autopsy was refused by his family.
This case highlights the importance of gadolinium enhanced MRI for diagnosis in ISCM. We believe that early diagnosis and surgery for selected patients shows helpfulness to save their neurologic function and improve quality of life.
脊髓髓内转移（ISCM）很少发生在恶性肿瘤中。据我们所知，文献中仅有 5 例食管癌 ISCM 病例报道。我们在此报告第 6 例食管癌 ISCM 病例。
一名 68 岁男性，在确诊食管鳞状细胞癌两年后出现右侧肢体无力和局部颈部疼痛。颈椎的钆增强磁共振成像（MRI）显示 C4-C5 存在混杂信号的脊髓内肿瘤，伴有典型的外周强化薄环。患者在诊断为不可逆呼吸和循环衰竭后 15 天死亡。其家属拒绝进行尸检。
该病例强调了钆增强 MRI 对 ISCM 诊断的重要性。我们认为，早期诊断和选择性手术对患者有帮助，可以挽救其神经功能并提高生活质量。
