Intracranial dural chondroma in a child—conventional and advanced neuroimaging characteristics and differential diagnosis

Intracranial chondromas are rare tumors, especially in the pediatric population. We describe the conventional and advanced neuroimaging characteristics of this rare convexity dura-based chondroma in a young adolescent. In particular we demonstrate that diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) facilitates differentiation between a dura-based chondroma and the more frequent classical meningioma. Chondromas are typically DWI hypointense with high apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values while meningiomas are typically DWI hyperintense with low ADC values. We also discuss the relevant additional differential diagnoses of dura based focal lesions for the pediatric population as well as the diagnostic significance of additional imaging modalities, including computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and cerebral angiography.