Concomitant renal cell carcinoma with pituitary adenoma

Abstract

Renal cell carcinoma has a complex and variable natural history. We report a case underlining this who presented concomitant renal cell carcinoma metastasis with pituitary and adrenocortical adenomas. A 62-year-old woman presented with visual loss. Imaging revealed a large sellar mass with suprasellar extension. Four years before, nephrectomy and adrenalectomy had been performed for a renal cell carcinoma with metastasis in a coexistent adrenocortical adenoma. Faced with progressive visual loss and the questionable pituitary pathology, the patient underwent trans-sphenoidal surgery. Due to profuse tumor bleeding, only a biopsy was possible. In a second operation, the patient underwent craniotomy with subtotal resection of the tumor. Histological examination of the specimen revealed a metastasis of the renal cell carcinoma and a pituitary adenoma. The case presented here and a review of the reports suggest that there are some differences between the clinical features and outcomes of metastases of renal cell carcinoma and those of pituitary gland metastases from other primary sites.