Background: Although pineal parenchymal tumours are very rare in elderly patients, we recently successfully treated a 72-year-old male patient. Interestingly, the histology of his pineal parenchymal tumour was mixed pineocytoma/pineoblastoma, which is reported to be extremely rare in aged patients. We present his clinical manifestations, follow-up MRI, surgical treatment, pathological findings, and review the literature.
Clinical material: This 72-year-old man had a mass in the pineal region detected 3 years previously on MRI in February 1996 following symptoms of headache and vertigo. Two years later, he experienced gait disturbance and disorientation. CT scans disclosed obstructive hydrocephalus, and ventriculo-peritoneal shunt placement was then performed. The tumour mass began to enlarge in July 1999 (at age 72). On October 13, 1999, total removal of the pineal region tumour was performed through an occipital transtentorial approach. The postoperative course was uneventful. The pathological diagnosis of the tumour was mixed pineocytoma/pineoblastoma.
Conclusion: Pineal parenchymal tumours are uncommon in elderly patients, and mixed pineocytoma/pineoblastomas are particularly rare. We followed this patient closely for more than 3.5 years and finally performed total surgical removal of the tumour, with excellent outcome. The present case suggests that a mixed pineocytoma/pineoblastoma tumour is controllable even in elderly patients through careful evaluation and management.