title: Cavernous sinus metastasis from oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: Metastasis to the cavernous sinus from head and neck cancer is uncommon and has been previously reported by a few authors. It is usually a late manifestation of the primary tumor and may be the first evidence of a widespread dissemination of the disease. Main clinical findings are those related with involvement of cranial nerves III to VI as they pass through the cavernous sinus. Although diagnosis may be difficult, the appearance of clinical and radiological findings of cavernous sinus involvement in a context of head and neck cancer must alert us about an intracranial metastatic infiltration. In most cases treatment is palliative with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. The prognosis of this entity is poor, with survival of a few months. We present the case of cavernous sinus metastasis from oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and review the literature about the clinical presentation and management of this rare entity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospital La Princesa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. raugg@mixmail.com
authors.forename: Raúl
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: González García
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sastre Pérez
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Naval Gías
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Rodríguez Campo
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Díaz González
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy; D002426:Cavernous Sinus; D006801:Humans; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage