Intramedullary clear cell ependymoma in the cervical spinal cord: Case report

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: Clear cell ependymoma of the spinal cord has not been reported in the literature, although ependymoma in the cerebral and cerebellar hemispheres has been described. We present the first case report of this rare histological type of ependymoma arising in the cervical spinal cord and emphasize the importance of recognizing this histological entity. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 42-year-old woman presented with numbness in both upper limbs and spastic gait. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an intramedullary tumor at the C6-T1 level with syringomyelia. INTERVENTION: The tumor was totally removed. Histological analysis revealed that the tumor was composed of round cells with perinuclear halos similar to those observed in oligodendroglioma. However, we diagnosed clear cell ependymoma because these tumor cells exhibited epithelial features and ependymal rosettes under light microscopic examination. CONCLUSION: Histological diagnosis was crucial to our determining whether to perform postoperative adjuvant therapy in this patient. Neurosurgeons should be aware of the possibility of this histological entity among intramedullary spinal cord tumors.