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Nasopharyngeal
Carcinoma Metastasis to the Pituitary Gland: A Case Report and Literature Review
G. Brandon Gunn, Ruben D. Villa, Ross R. Sedler, Fred
Hardwicke, Gianluigi A. Fornari, Rufus J. Mark
Texas Tech University Health Sciences
Center, School of Medicine (G.B.G., G.A.F.), Department
of Internal Medicine (R.D.V.), Department of Neurosurgery (R.R.S.),
Department of Hematology/Oncology
(F.H.), Department
of Radiation Oncology, Texas Tech Medical Center (R.J.M.),
Southwest Cancer Center at University Medical Center, Lubbock, TX, USA.
While nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) commonly invades the skull base,
true central nervous system metastasis is a rare phenomenon.
We report a case of NPC metastasis to the pituitary gland and review the
literature for similar events.
Eight months after his definitive radiation therapy, our patient presented with
symptoms of optic chiasm compression and panhypopituitarism.
Medical imaging revealed a pituitary mass but demonstrated no evidence of skull
base erosion or direct intracranial extension.
Subsequent biopsy of the pituitary lesion was confirmed as NPC in origin with
Epstein–Barr virus-encoded RNA in-situ
hybridization studies.
The patient was treated with high dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem
cell transplant, which produced short-term symptomatic relief and at least a 7
month survival.
Keywords: autologous stem cell transplant, central nervous system, Epstein–Barr
virus, in-situ hybridization, metastasis, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, pituitary
gland
Copyright
©
2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.
All rights reserved
Source:
http://journals.kluweronline.com/article.asp?PIPS=5269012
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