title: Melanoma of the sellar region mimicking pituitary adenoma.
abstract: We report here the case of an 82-year-old woman who presented with visual disturbance. MRI demonstrated a sellar mass. The diagnosis of pituitary adenoma was made. She underwent transnasal surgery. Histologic, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies indicated that the tumor was a melanoma. Despite an exhaustive search for a primary lesion elsewhere, none was found. The sellar tumor was considered a primary lesion, although extrasellar primary tumor imaging cannot be excluded with 100% certainty. Reported examples of melanoma affecting the sellar region are few. They exhibit morphologic features identical to those of melanomas arising elsewhere. Although very rare, primary melanomas enter into the differential diagnosis of sellar lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, St. Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sidiropoulos
authors.forename: Luis V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Syro
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rotondo
authors.forename: Bernd W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Scheithauer
authors.forename: Luis Carlos
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Penagos
authors.forename: Humberto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uribe
authors.forename: Maria Del Pilar
authors.initials: Mdel P
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Horvath
authors.forename: Miklos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goth
authors.forename: Kalman
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kovacs
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D012658:Sella Turcica / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D012888:Skull Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery