Table 1. Reported Cases of Posterior Fossa Melanocytomas.
| Author/Year | Age/Sex | Symptom/Sign/Duration | Size/Location | Management | Outcome | Maximum Follow-Up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keegan and Mullen 1962 | 51 M | Facial numbness 6 y Ataxia 2 y Difficulty swallowing year |
Pons, walnut size | Subtotal resection | No recurrence | 3.5 y |
| Limas and Tio 1972 | 71 M | Headache 6 y Left leg weakness 6 y Increased weakness 3 y Difficulty swallowing 2.5 y |
Foramen magnum 4.5 × 3.5 × 2.7 cm | None Diagnosis at autopsy |
Death | 3 m |
| Portugal et al 1984 | 52 F | Headache 8 m Vomiting 4 m Papilledema IV cranial nerve palsy |
Vermis 6 cm diameter | Total resection second total resection and chemo | Recurrence in 10.8 y Death after second operation |
10.8 y |
| Lesoin et al 1985 | 33 M | Left sensory deafness 3 m Papilledema |
Pons 4 cm diameter | Total resection | – | – |
| Winston et al 1987 | 9 M | Headache 6 w Diplopia 3 w |
CPA Meckel's cave |
Total resection second subtotal resection + radio third debulking | Recurrence in 6 m | 18 m |
| Naul et al 1991 | 68 F | Headache, nausea/vomiting and difficulty walking 6 w | Posterior fossa 3 cm diameter | Removed without difficulty | No recurrence | 10 m alive |
| Litofsky et al 1992 | 32 M | Neck pain 2 y Tingling right hand 6 m Lower cranial nerves abnormality and myelopathy |
From clivus to C5 | Total resection in two stages | No recurrence | 3.4 y alive |
| Uematsu et al 1992 | 62 M | Episodes of loss of consciousness and gait disturbance year | Foramen magnum and C1 | Total resection | No recurrence | 1.5 y alive |
| Prabhu et al 1993 | 67 F | Deafness right ear 14 y Unsteadiness and diplopia 4 m |
CPA | Total resection | No recurrence | 35 y |
| O'Brien et al 1995 | 71 F | Headache and ataxia 3 m Papilledema |
Posterior fossa | Subtotal resection | Died 3 w post op | 3 w |
| 49 M | Poor vision | Foramen magnum and C3 | Total resection | Recurrence at 8 y. Died at 9 y | 9 y | |
| 40 F | Headache for weeks | Right temporal 5 cm Posterior fossa 2 cm |
Total resection and radio | No recurrence | 7.5 y | |
| Gardiman et al 1996 | 19 M | Diplopia, left trigeminal paresthesia 5 m | CPA, Meckel's cave | Subtotal resection | No recurrence | – |
| 43 M | Left trigeminal paresthesia and headache 2 m | CPA, Meckel's cave | Subtotal resection | Recurrence at 5 m. Died year | 1 y | |
| Hirose et al 1997 | 66 M | Numbness in both hands and ataxia year | Medulla to C1 | Total resection | No recurrence. Died renal ca 8 m |
8 m |
| Clarke et al 2002 | 30 F | Decreased hearing left ear 3 m Ataxia, diplopia, papilledema, cranial nerve palsies |
CPA | Subtotal resection + radio second total resection | Died 6 m postoperatively from bleed | 6 m |
| Hamasaki et al 2002 | 59 M | Headache, nausea/vomiting 1 m | CPA 3 cm | Subtotal resection + radio | No recurrence | 2 y |
| Ahluwalia et al 2003 | 16 M | Headache, neck pain, nausea/vomiting 6 w | Right cerebellar hemisphere | Total resection | No recurrence | 4 y |
| Kan et al 2003 | 26 F | Ataxia, right-sided hearing loss, dysphagia | CPA 3.4 × 2.3 × 2.5 cm |
Total resection | No recurrence | 1 y |
| Fagunes-Pereyra et al 2005 | 49 F | Headache, nausea/vomiting, papilledema | Posterior fossa | Total resection | No recurrence | 4 y alive |
| This study 2010 | 40 M | Headache 8 m Right arm weakness, diplopia, lower cranial nerve palsies |
Right parapontine space | Subtotal resection + radio | No recurrence | 3.5 y |
| O'Brien et al 2006 | 10 F | Headache, vomiting, diplopia V, VI, VII cranial nerve palsies |
Meckel's cave | Biopsy | Died 3 d postoperatively | – |
| Gupta et al 2007 | 58 F | Headache, right-sided weakness, left-sided hearing loss. V, VII, VIII, IX cranial palsies |
CPA | Subtotal resection | No recurrence | 3 m |
CPA, cerebellopontine angle.