A rare brain tumor first mistaken for glioblastoma
Original title: Temporoinsular Extraventricular Neurocytoma Initially Diagnosed as Glioblastoma in a 57-Year-Old Woman: A Case Report and Literature Review.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This is a report on one patient's care, not a test of a new treatment.
The short version
A woman's brain tumor looked like an aggressive glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary on scans, but tests on the tissue showed it was a different, slower growing tumor.
What was studied. This is a report about one patient, a 57-year-old woman. She had focal seizures, weakness on her right side, and trouble with language. Her scan showed a mass in the left side of her brain that doctors first read as glioblastoma: The fastest-growing type of glioma (grade 4). Treatment usually starts soon after diagnosis: surgery first, then radiation and chemotherapy. See the glossary.
What they found. Surgeons removed part of the tumor. They could not take all of it because it was stuck to a part of the brain that controls movement. Lab tests on the tumor tissue gave the real diagnosis: extraventricular neurocytoma, a WHO grade 2 tumor. Because some tumor was left behind, she was treated with radiation and then temozolomide. At 14 months, her scans showed no growth and she had recovered a lot of function.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: It shows why the tissue itself matters, not just the scan. A tumor that looks aggressive on imaging can turn out to be something less aggressive. Getting the right name for a tumor can change the treatment plan and what to expect.
What it doesn't mean: This is one person's story, not a study. One case cannot tell us how other people will do. It does not mean scans are usually wrong, and it does not mean this tumor type is common. No new treatment was tested here, and nothing in this report is a promise of a cure.
Source: PubMed, July 11, 2026 · Read the original
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