Isolated cerebellopontine angle metastasis from breast cancer: The added value of MR spectroscopy.
- 1Department of Radiology, National Institute of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Rabat, Mohamed V University, Rabat, Morocco.
Abstract
Cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumors are predominantly vestibular schwannomas and meningiomas; metastatic lesions in this location are rare, particularly in the absence of multiple brain metastases. We report the case of a 53-year-old woman with a history of invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast in HER2-positive metastatic relapse, in whom brain MRI revealed a single 28 × 24 mm mass in the right cerebellopontine angle. The lesion was isointense on T1- and T2-weighted images, contained fluid components, and showed restricted diffusion (ADC 0.64 × 10⁻³ mm²/s) with intense peripheral enhancement after gadolinium administration. MR spectroscopy demonstrated markedly elevated Cho/NAA (6.73) and Cho/Cr (5.72) ratios within the lesion, with a normal perilesional spectroscopic profile, favoring a secondary lesion and allowing the main differential diagnoses to be excluded without biopsy. The patient underwent stereotactic radiotherapy (30 Gy in 5 fractions), with significant regression of the lesion on follow-up MRI at five months. This case illustrates the role of MR spectroscopy in the non-invasive characterization of atypical cerebellopontine angle lesions.
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BibTeX
@article{tsioukaka2026isolated,
title = {{Isolated cerebellopontine angle metastasis from breast cancer: The added value of MR spectroscopy.}},
author = {Delors Gray Tsioukaka and Herlinda Njocke and Jean Vincent Fouda Ekodo and Youssef Omor and Rachida Latib},
journal = {Radiology case reports},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.radcr.2026.09.078},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42910083},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Isolated cerebellopontine angle metastasis from breast cancer: The added value of MR spectroscopy.
AU - Delors Gray Tsioukaka
AU - Herlinda Njocke
AU - Jean Vincent Fouda Ekodo
AU - Youssef Omor
AU - Rachida Latib
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
JO - Radiology case reports
DO - 10.1016/j.radcr.2026.09.078
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42910083
AB - Cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumors are predominantly vestibular schwannomas and meningiomas; metastatic lesions in this location are rare, particularly in the absence of multiple brain metastases. We report the case of a 53-year-old woman with a history of invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast in HER2-positive metastatic relapse, in whom brain MRI revealed a single 28 × 24 mm mass in the right cerebellopontine angle. The lesion was isointense on T1- and T2-weighted images, contained fluid components, and showed restricted diffusion (ADC 0.64 × 10⁻³ mm²/s) with intense peripheral enhancement after gadolinium administration. MR spectroscopy demonstrated markedly elevated Cho/NAA (6.73) and Cho/Cr (5.72) ratios within the lesion, with a normal perilesional spectroscopic profile, favoring a secondary lesion and allowing the main differential diagnoses to be excluded without biopsy. The patient underwent stereotactic radiotherapy (30 Gy in 5 fractions), with significant regression of the lesion on follow-up MRI at five months. This case illustrates the role of MR spectroscopy in the non-invasive characterization of atypical cerebellopontine angle lesions.
SN - 1930-0433
ER -