Skin spread from an intracranial glioblastoma: case report and review of the literature.

Extracranial metastases secondary to intracranial neoplasm are extremely rare. The incidence of extraneural metastases of brain tumours is estimated to be less than 0.4%. The authors report a case of postoperative intracranial glioblastoma spreading to the skin in an adult patient. In this case, the radiological images and surgical findings suggest that the potential dissemination mechanism is as a result of infiltration through the surgical wound site. The primary tumour-upon coming into contact with the dura and the skin-mimicked the characteristics of both tissues. This case supports the theory of risk of spread through the durotomy site, although this phenomenon is extremely rare. Both the specific pathogenic mechanisms as well as the ideal and effective management have not been established yet and require further investigation.