Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Clinical Pathology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Pathology
. 1998 Dec;51(12):931–934. doi: 10.1136/jcp.51.12.931

Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma with metastasis to the pituitary gland: a case report.

G Lau 1, S Y Tan 1, G Chiang 1, W T Poh 1
PMCID: PMC501031  PMID: 10070337

Abstract

An unusual case of metastatic bronchioloalveolar carcinoma of the lung presented as a pituitary tumour in a young adult Chinese female, who subsequently died after having undergone trans-sphenoidal resection. Metastatic cancers of the pituitary are uncommon even in necropsy series and rarely give rise to clinical symptoms. This case draws attention to the fact that, although uncommon, pituitary metastases have been noted with increasing frequency and their distinction from primary pituitary tumours is often difficult. A metastatic pituitary tumour may be the initial presentation of an unknown primary malignancy, wherein the metastatic deposits may also be limited to the pituitary gland. Clinicians and pathologists alike should consider a metastatic lesion in the differential diagnosis of a non-functioning pituitary tumour.

Full text

PDF
931

Images in this article

932Image
on p.932
932Image
on p.932

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aaberg T. M., Jr, Kay M., Sternau L. Metastatic tumors to the pituitary. Am J Ophthalmol. 1995 Jun;119(6):779–785. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9394(14)72785-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Branch C. L., Jr, Laws E. R., Jr Metastatic tumors of the sella turcica masquerading as primary pituitary tumors. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1987 Sep;65(3):469–474. doi: 10.1210/jcem-65-3-469. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chiang M. F., Brock M., Patt S. Pituitary metastases. Neurochirurgia (Stuttg) 1990 Jul;33(4):127–131. doi: 10.1055/s-2008-1053571. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Clayton F. Bronchioloalveolar carcinomas. Cell types, patterns of growth, and prognostic correlates. Cancer. 1986 Apr 15;57(8):1555–1564. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19860415)57:8<1555::aid-cncr2820570820>3.0.co;2-n. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Daly R. C., Trastek V. F., Pairolero P. C., Murtaugh P. A., Huang M. S., Allen M. S., Colby T. V. Bronchoalveolar carcinoma: factors affecting survival. Ann Thorac Surg. 1991 Mar;51(3):368–377. doi: 10.1016/0003-4975(91)90847-j. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Duchen L. W. Metastatic carcinoma in the pituitary gland and hypothalamus. J Pathol Bacteriol. 1966 Apr;91(2):347–355. doi: 10.1002/path.1700910208. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Edgerton F., Rao U., Takita H., Vincent R. G. Bronchio-alveolar carcinoma. A clinical overview and bibliography. Oncology. 1981;38(5):269–273. doi: 10.1159/000225568. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Edwards C. W. Alveolar carcinoma: a review. Thorax. 1984 Mar;39(3):166–174. doi: 10.1136/thx.39.3.166. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Greco R. J., Steiner R. M., Goldman S., Cotler H., Patchefsky A., Cohn H. E. Bronchoalveolar cell carcinoma of the lung. Ann Thorac Surg. 1986 Jun;41(6):652–656. doi: 10.1016/s0003-4975(10)63082-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hägerstrand I., Schönebeck J. Metastases to the pituitary gland. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand. 1969;75(1):64–70. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Juneau P., Schoene W. C., Black P. Malignant tumors in the pituitary gland. Arch Neurol. 1992 May;49(5):555–558. doi: 10.1001/archneur.1992.00530290147025. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kovacs K. Metastatic cancer of the pituitary gland. Oncology. 1973;27(6):533–542. doi: 10.1159/000224763. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Marzano M. J., Deschler T., Mintzer R. A. Alveolar cell carcinoma. Chest. 1984 Jul;86(1):123–128. doi: 10.1378/chest.86.1.123. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Max M. B., Deck M. D., Rottenberg D. A. Pituitary metastasis: incidence in cancer patients and clinical differentiation from pituitary adenoma. Neurology. 1981 Aug;31(8):998–1002. doi: 10.1212/wnl.31.8.998. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. McCormick P. C., Post K. D., Kandji A. D., Hays A. P. Metastatic carcinoma to the pituitary gland. Br J Neurosurg. 1989;3(1):71–79. doi: 10.3109/02688698909001028. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Nelson P. B., Robinson A. G., Martinez A. J. Metastatic tumor of the pituitary gland. Neurosurgery. 1987 Dec;21(6):941–944. doi: 10.1227/00006123-198712000-00030. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Ruelle A., Palladino M., Andrioli G. C. Pituitary metastases as presenting lesions of malignancy. J Neurosurg Sci. 1992 Jan-Mar;36(1):51–54. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Sioutos P., Yen V., Arbit E. Pituitary gland metastases. Ann Surg Oncol. 1996 Jan;3(1):94–99. doi: 10.1007/BF02409058. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Teears R. J., Silverman E. M. Clinicopathologic review of 88 cases of carcinoma metastatic to the putuitary gland. Cancer. 1975 Jul;36(1):216–220. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(197507)36:1<216::aid-cncr2820360123>3.0.co;2-e. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Verhelst J., Vanden Broucke P., Dua G., Joosens E., Abs R., Verlooy J., Mahler C. Pituitary metastasis mimicking a pituitary adenoma. A description of two cases. Acta Clin Belg. 1995;50(1):31–35. doi: 10.1080/17843286.1995.11718418. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Pathology are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES