Nasopharyngeal carcinoma presented as cavernous sinus tumour
Moona, M.S.; Mehdi, I.
JPMA. Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association 61(12): 1235-1236
2011
ISSN/ISBN: 0030-9982 PMID: 22355975 Document Number: 653287
A 32 year Libyan male presented with the complaints of headache and diplopia. He was diagnosed with a cavernous sinus meningioma on the basis of MRI findings but no initial biopsy was taken. Depending on the radiologic diagnosis the patient was treated with gamma knife surgery twice, abroad. During follow up he developed left ear deafness and left cervical lymph adenopathy. An ENT evaluation with biopsy from the nasopharynx and cervical lymph node was taken. The histopathologic diagnosis of the resected tumour showed a nasopharyngeal carcinoma with cervical lymph node metastasis (poorly differentiated lympho-epithelial carcinoma). The cavernous sinus tumour which was initially treated as a meningioma was in fact metastasis from the nasopharyngeal carcinoma, making this an interesting and rare occurrence.