A case of neck ectopic meningioma.

Primary extra cranial and extra spinal meningioma is rare and is usually limited to the head and neck region or to the paravertebral soft tissues. Histologic diagnosis (in particular for fresh specimens) is often difficult. A 16-year-old girl with a cervical mass is presented. It was a relatively large mass with an approximate diameter of 5 cm. It was diagnosed in fine needle aspiration as a pleomorphic adenoma. Intra-operative diagnosis was paraganglioma and frozen section suggested an infiltrative tumor. Histologically, the lesion showed uniform spindle cell proliferation separated by hyalinized collagen bundles. The cells were often arranged in sweeping fascicles and concentrically wrapped in tight whorls. Immunohistochemically, tumor cells were positive for epithelial membrane antigen and vimentin, while showing no reaction for cytokeratin, chromogranin, neuron-specific enolase and thyroglobulin. A diagnosis of ectopic meningioma was established based on microscopic appearance and immunohistochemical profile of the tumor. Despite its rarity, ectopic meningioma should be considered in differential diagnosis of any mass lesion in head and neck regions, containing spindle cells.