Cervical amyloidoma of C2. Case report and review of the literature.

Abstract

Second published report of a patient with amyloidoma of the upper cervical spine. To describe a patient with rare radiculopathy to alert other physicians to consider amyloid tumor as a differential diagnosis of locally destructive spine lesions. Localized amyloid tumor of the bone is a rare disease. Only seven cases of spine involvement have been reported. Appropriate tissue sampling is required to establish the diagnosis. Histopathologic examination shows pathognomonic apple-green birefringence under polarized light. When bone is involved with amyloid, it is most commonly associated with multiple myeloma or other plasma cell-dyscrasias. This case was described, and pertinent literature was reviewed. The patient showed persistent neurologic improvement after transoral complete tumor removal, followed by a secondary posterior stabilization procedure using transarticular C1-C2 screws. Amyloidomas are benign lesions with no associated documented risk for the development of plasmocytoma-related diseases. The clinical and radiographic manifestations of this lesion are nonspecific. A cure is possible with complete resection of the tumor and no adjuvant management procedures.