Cerebral Syphilitic Gumma Misdiagnosed as a Malignant Brain Tumor

J Craniofac Surg. 2017 Mar;28(2):e170-e172. doi: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000003191.

Abstract

Syphilitic gumma involvement of the central nervous system is extremely rare and frequently misdiagnosed. The authors report a patient of a cerebral syphilitic gumma resembling a malignant brain tumor in a 62-year-old male. He was first suspected of a malignant brain tumor, but the pathological diagnosis was cerebral syphilitic gumma. This patient with unusual findings illustrates the clinical manifestations, imaging, and therapeutic aspects of cerebral syphilitic gumma.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Brain Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Brain Neoplasms / pathology
  • Diagnostic Errors*
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neurosyphilis / diagnosis*
  • Neurosyphilis / pathology