title: Metastasis of a small cell carcinoma from undetected origin to the pituitary gland--the otolaryngologist's view.
abstract: Tumour metastasis to the anterior pituitary-hypothalamic area is rare. We present a patient who had severe headache, bitemporal quadrant hemianopsia and an expanding mass in the sella turcica as revealed by MRI. Partial resection via a transsphenoidal approach was performed and postoperative radiation therapy was initiated. Immunohistochemical investigation identified the tumour as a metastatic small cell carcinoma whose primary site remained undetected for more than 12 months despite repeated oncological evaluations. We reviewed the literature on metastatic disease of the pituitary gland.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Mont-Godinne, Université Catholique de Louvain, Yvoir, Belgium. philippe.eloy@orlo.ucl.ac.be
authors.forename: Ph
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Eloy
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Evrard
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Donckier
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Godfraind
authors.forename: Th
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gustin
authors.forename: St
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Collet
authors.forename: Ph
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rombaux
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bertrand
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy*