Radiation-induced spinal cord cavernous malformation. Case report.

The authors report a case of a 16-year-old girl who presented with progressive gait difficulty 8 years after undergoing spinal radiation therapy for spinal astrocytoma. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed intramedullary multicentric cavity formation in the T4-10 area. Extensive subtotal resection was performed and a pathological examination of the excised tissue demonstrated cavernous malformation with radiation-induced degeneration in the surrounding vessels. This is believed to be the third case of de novo formation of an intramedullary cavernous malformation following spinal radiation therapy.