Glioblastoma with Rhabdoid Features: Report of Two Young Adult Cases and Review of the Literature.

BACKGROUND

There are few previous reports of glioblastoma in young adults, in particular, of the very rare recently proposed rhabdoid or epithelioid types.

METHODS

We report 2 cases of glioblastoma with rhabdoid features involving a 27-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man. In case 1, the patient presented with generalized seizures, and the initial magnetic resonance imaging showed a very small region of contrast in the left parahippocampal area. After 1 year, the mass suddenly increased in size. Treatment with multiple therapies was administered, but 5 months later, the patient died from multiple systemic metastases. In case 2, the patient presented with a chief complaint of headache for a few weeks. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed a left parietal mass with calcification and meningeal dissemination. After undergoing surgical removal, his condition rapidly deteriorated until brain death occurred.

CONCLUSIONS

Glioblastoma with rhabdoid features may represent a specific pattern of clinical progression that emerges from histologic glioblastoma types.