Epstein-Barr Virus-Associated Smooth-Muscle Tumor of the Brain

Afra Alfalahi; Abdelsimar Il Omar; Krystal Fox; Julian Spears; Malika Sharma; Aditya Bharatha; David G Munoz; Suradech Suthiphosuwan

doi:10.3174/ajnr.A8258

Epstein-Barr Virus-Associated Smooth-Muscle Tumor of the Brain

AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2024 May 9. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A8258. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Afra Alfalahi^{1

2}, Abdelsimar Il Omar^{3

4}, Krystal Fox³, Julian Spears³, Malika Sharma⁵, Aditya Bharatha¹, David G Munoz⁶, Suradech Suthiphosuwan⁷

Affiliations

¹ From the Division of Diagnostic Neuroradiology (A.A., A.B., S.S.), St. Michael's Hospital-Unity Health Toronto, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
² Division of Diagnostic Neuroradiology (A.A.), Department of Medical Imaging, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
³ Department of Medical Imaging, Division of Neurosurgery (A.I.O., K.F., J.S.), Department of Surgery, St. Michael's Hospital-Unity Health Toronto, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ Division of Neurosurgery (A.I.O.), Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
⁵ Department of Infectious Diseases (M.S.), St. Michael's Hospital-Unity Health Toronto, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁶ Department of Laboratory Medicine (D.G.M.), St. Michael's Hospital-Unity Health Toronto, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁷ From the Division of Diagnostic Neuroradiology (A.A., A.B., S.S.), St. Michael's Hospital-Unity Health Toronto, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada suradech.suthiphosuwan@unityhealth.to.

PMID: 38724198
DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.A8258

Abstract

Epstein-Barr virus, a herpesvirus, has been associated with a variety of cancers, including Burkitt, Hodgkin, and non-Hodgkin lymphomas; posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders; gastric carcinoma; and nasopharyngeal carcinoma, in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised individuals. Previous studies have established a connection between Epstein-Barr virus and the development of smooth-muscle tumors. Smooth-muscle tumors of the brain are very rare and are often misdiagnosed as meningiomas on imaging. To our knowledge, advanced imaging findings such as MR perfusion of smooth-muscle tumors of the brain have never been reported. We describe the radiologic and pathologic features of the Epstein-Barr virus-associated smooth-muscle tumors of the brain in a person with newly diagnosed advanced HIV.