title: A new approach to the treatment of metastatic paraganglioma: sorafenib.
abstract: Paragangliomas are relatively rare chromaffin cell tumors which may be cured through resection. Patients with paragangliomas may develop metastatic diseases. There is no consensus regarding refractory chemotherapy for treatment of metastatic disease. In this report, we presented a case of a 43-year-old woman who was admitted to the hospital with a history of episodic headaches, diaphoresis, and weakness. Elevated plasma catecholamine levels and a right paraaortic mass were observed on computed tomography. The mass was excised, and a diagnosis of paraganglioma was confirmed. After 20 months of follow-up, local recurrence and metastases were detected in the thorax, abdomen, and skeletal system. Plasma and urinary catecholamine levels were high. Chemotherapy was administered, and no improvement was observed. Therefore, following this palliative conventional chemotherapy, sorafenib was administered for three months, and, finally, positron emission tomography showed that the patient's lesions had completely regressed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, University of Cukurova Faculty of Medicine, Adana, Turkey.
authors.forename: Meral
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gunaldi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, University of Cukurova Faculty of Medicine, Adana, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ismail Oguz
authors.initials: IO
authors.lastname: Kara
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, University of Cukurova Faculty of Medicine, Adana, Turkey.
authors.forename: Berna Bozkurt
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Duman
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, University of Cukurova Faculty of Medicine, Adana, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cigdem Usul
authors.initials: CU
authors.lastname: Afsar
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Cukurova Faculty of Medicine, Adana, Turkey.
authors.forename: Melek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ergin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Cukurova Faculty of Medicine, Adana, Turkey.
authors.forename: Arbil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Avci
keywords: Extra-adrenal paraganglioma; Neoplasm metastasis; Pheochromocytomas; Sorafenib; Tyrosine kinase inhibitor