PRIMARY SPINAL PRIMITIVE NEUROECTODERMAL TUMOUR - REPORT OF 2 CASES

Abstract

Primary spinal primitive neuroectodermal
tumours (PNETs) are a rare entity. Primitive
neuroectodermal tumours (PNET)
are aggressive childhood malignancies
and offer a significant challenge to treatment.
Most of them occur in children and
young adults. To date, 47 cases of primary
spinal PNET have been reported in
the literature. We present two cases of
primary spinal extradural PNET. These
tumours are highly aggressive with rapid
growth as evidenced by the short history
in both of our cases. Both cases underwent
gross total removal. Review of the
literature shows that the overall prognosis
of PNETs of the spinal cord is very
poor even with adequate surgery, radiotherapy
and chemotherapy.