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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · J Neurol Surg Rep 2023; 84(02): e51-e58
DOI: 10.1055/a-2065-9809
Case Report

High-Grade Ectopic Pituitary Adenoma within the Cerebellopontine Angle: A Case Report

Cassidy Anderson 
1   Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States
,
Aishwarya Sriram
2   Department of Ophthalmology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States
,
Abigail Funari 
3   Department of Neurological Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States
,
Kevin Hsu
4   Department of Radiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Lower Level, Bronx, New York, United States
,
Raquel Yokoda
5   Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Lower Level, Bronx, New York, United States
,
Isabella Pecorari
3   Department of Neurological Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States
,
Isabella Flaquer
3   Department of Neurological Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States
,
Nadeem Akbar
1   Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States
,
Patrick Colley
1   Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States
,
Geoffrey Basson
2   Department of Ophthalmology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States
,
Howard S. Moskowitz
1   Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States
,
Vijay Agarwal
3   Department of Neurological Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, United States
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Abstract

Ectopic pituitary tumors are neoplasms with no connection to the pituitary gland and are commonly deposited in other areas of the anterior skull base. A 32-year-old woman presented with a 3-month history of right-sided facial weakness, sensorineural hearing loss, diplopia, and severe headaches. Physical examination revealed a mid-dilated sluggishly reactive right pupil with slight limitation in all gazes, as well as right-sided orbicularis weakness, lagophthalmos, and decreased facial sensation. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head without contrast revealed a 3.7 × 1.8 × 2.6 cm mildly enhancing mass in the right internal acoustic meatus and along the petrous ridge. The case was brought before the institution's tumor board, where concern for higher grade pathology, such as hemangiopericytoma, was discussed. Per patient preference, surgical biopsy of the tumor was performed. Immunohistochemical staining revealed a World Health Organization (WHO) grade II neuroendocrine tumor, with cells staining positive for synaptophysin, chromogranin, and CD56, with a Ki-67 index of 8%. In addition to the ectopic location, this pituitary tumor was noted to be aggressive in nature based on its high Ki-67 index. Surgical excision and radiologic therapy of tumors involving the CPA are appropriate treatments in most cases.

Keywords

ectopic pituitary tumor - neuroendocrine tumor - cerebellopontine angle tumor

Ethics Approval

This study was performed in line with the ethical standards of the institution in which the study was conducted.


Consent to Participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.


Consent for Publication

The participant has consented to the submission of the case report to the journal.


Author Contributions

All authors approved the manuscript as it is written.




Publication History

Received: 16 September 2022

Accepted: 26 January 2023

Accepted Manuscript online:
30 March 2023

Article published online:
21 April 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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