Lumbar spine teratoma with associated neuroendocrine tumour (NET) in a 37-year-old woman.

Spinal teratoma with associated neuroendocrine tumour (NET) is a rare entity. To date there have been only three such cases reported in the literature. Information available to clinicians regarding clinical presentation, behaviour of this tumour over time, management options and follow-up, are as a consequence very limited. We present a case of a 37-year-old woman who was found to have an incidental lumbar spine teratoma with NET after presenting with a one-week history of acute lower back pain and radiculopathy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lumbosacral spine demonstrated an acute disc prolapse at the L4/5 level as well as incidental lesion at the L1/2 level causing effacement of the conus medullaris. Lumbar laminectomy with gross total resection of the intradural extramedullary lesion at the L1/2 level was performed with histopathology confirming the teratoma with NET. The objective of our case is to report our experience with this unique tumour and potential management implications.