USMLE Step 1

Question of the Day!

A 38 year-old woman presents to the emergency room after a car accident. She said she was driving down the road when all of a sudden she started having a seizure and could not control herself. She has been complaining of headaches and some memory troubles as of late. After a full workup, Doctors tell her she has a terrible brain tumor. CT scan shows that the tumor crosses over the corpus callosum. What primary brain tumor does she have?

A) Glioblastoma multiforme
B) Meningioma
C) Pituitary Adenoma
D) Medulloblastoma
E) Craniopharyngioma

















Answer: A) Glioblastoma multiforme or Grade IV astrocytoma. It is the most common primary brain tumor in adults. It carries with it a less than one year prognosis time. It is found in the cerebral hemispheres and often crosses the corpus callosum where it gets the nickname of “butterfly glioma.” On biopsy of the tumor, pseudopalisading tumor cells border central areas of necrosis and hemorrhage.