Epstein-Barr virus-associated smooth muscle tumour presenting as a parasagittal brain tumour

Dural-based brain tumours, apart from meningiomas, are rare. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated smooth muscle tumor (SMT) is a documented but rare disease that occurs in immunocompromized patients. These tumours may be located at unusual sites including the brain. We present a 37-year-old patient, positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), who was admitted after generalized tonic-clonic seizures. MRI and CT scan revealed a dural-based brain tumour, intraoperatively thought to be a meningioma, but with an eventual histological diagnosis of EBV-SMT. Clinically the patient was well postoperatively with a Glasgow coma scale score of 15/15 and no focal neurologic deficit. This case confirms the association between EBV and SMT in patients with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It also highlights the need to include EBV-SMT in the differential diagnosis of intracranial mass lesions in patients with HIV/AIDS. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.