OBJECTIVE/IMPORTANCE: Cancer metastasis to a pre-existing intracranial tumor is rare, but several cases have been reported. We report an unusual case of a "collision tumor" consisting of a renal cell carcinoma metastasis to an intracranial meningioma.
Clinical presentation: A 67-year old male with renal cell carcinoma had an asymptomatic right posterior frontal dural-based lesion identified on a screening CT scan. MRI characteristics of the tumor were consistent with meningioma. On octreotide-SPECT and F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET scans, the lesion showed octreotide uptake but did not accumulate FDG, both of which are consistent with a diagnosis of benign meningioma. One week later, he presented with a 1-day history of progressive left-sided weakness. The intracranial tumor was resected, and subacute subdural blood was found overlying a soft, reddish tumor. Microscopic examination was consistent with renal cell carcinoma with a minor portion consisting of meningioma. The meningothelial component was strongly immunoreactive to vimentin and weakly reactive to epithelial membrane antigens. Neither area reacted with glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1), correlating with low FDG-PET uptake.
Conclusion: Collision tumor involving metastatic renal cell carcinoma to an intracranial meningioma is a rare occurrence. Diagnosis by non-invasive means, with use of a combination of octreotide-SPECT and FDG-PET may not accurately reflect the malignant component of such a collision tumor. In this case, the collision tumor also demonstrated a propensity to undergo spontaneous hemorrhage. A high degree of suspicion of intracranial metastasis should be maintained for patients who have known systemic cancer and are found incidentally to have a dural-based mass lesion.