Pituitary Metastasis of Breast Cancer: A Case Report

Pituitary metastases: a case series and scoping review

PURPOSE

To understand the natural history and optimal treatment strategy for pituitary gland metastasis.

METHODS

We performed both a retrospective chart review of patients treated at our institution and a scoping review of the topic.

RESULTS

The retrospective review identified seven patients with an average age of 59.6 years. Primary histologies included breast cancer (4), melanoma (1), renal cell carcinoma (1), and sarcoma (1). Two patients had anterior pituitary endocrine dysfunction, one of whom was the only patient with visual symptoms. All patients were treated with radiosurgery and two also underwent surgical resection. Overall survival ranged from 6.5 to 117 months. Literature review identified 166 patients from 71 studies. The most common primary cancer was lung (27.7%), followed by breast (18.7%) and renal (14.5%) cancer. 107 presented with endocrine dysfunction, including 41 cases of diabetes insipidus and 55 cases of hypopituitarism. 110 presented with visual compromise. 107 patients received radiotherapy, 96 underwent surgical resection and 44 received systemic chemotherapy/immunotherapy. Surgery was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of vision improvement and a decreased likelihood of endocrine normalization. Radiographic regression predicted visual improvement. Median overall survival was 9.9 months (range: 0.2-96).

CONCLUSIONS

This scoping review showed that both radiosurgery and surgical resection have been frequently used to treat pituitary metastases with good response. Vision improvement is more likely to happen following surgical resection, likely at the expense of endocrine dysfunction. Despite treatment and radiographic response, patient survival remains less than a year.

Early and isolated breast cancer metastasis to the pituitary: A case report and systematic review

Background:

Pituitary metastases (PMs) arising from breast cancer tend to occur many years following initial diagnosis, and after other systemic metastasis have been identified. Survival is generally considered to be poor. However, there are cases where patients present with an isolated metastatic lesion in the pituitary. Survival in this subset of patients has not been evaluated. We present a case of isolated PM that presented two years after initial diagnosis of breast cancer. We performed a systematic review of 38 breast cancer patients with PM. We report presentation, treatment strategy, and outcomes of breast cancer metastasis to the pituitary and highlight cases of isolated PM.

Case Description:

A 39 year old female presented with complaints of headache and polydipsia two years after diagnosis with breast cancer. Systemic workup was unremarkable, but brain imaging identified an isolated PM. Transsphenoidal debulking was performed with adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) targeted to the sellar region. Unfortunately, she passed away 9 months later from systemic progression.

Conclusion:

A total of 38 patients were included systematic review. Of these, 13 had isolated PM. Prevalent signs/ symptoms included visual disturbance, diabetes insipidus (DI), and hypothalamic dysfunction. Patients treated with surgical resection and adjuvant chemotherapy (ChT), or RT had better survival than those treated with resection alone. Patients that receive treatment for isolated PM may survive for many years without progression or recurrence.

Hypopituitarism secondary to a pituitary metastasis in a young woman with an invasive breast carcinoma

Hypopituitarism secondary to a pituitary metastasis is rare and difficult to diagnose since its symptoms are nonspecific. The presence of visual deficits and nerve palsies should suggest the presence of a pituitary metastasis in a cancer patient.