A tale of many tumors and one endocrine site: A case series of pituitary metastases

Abstract

Background: Metastases to the pituitary gland are extremely rare with an incidence rate reported from an autopsy series of 1.8%–12%, and only 20% was diagnosed clinically. Tumors that commonly metastasize are breast and lung tumors. Case series: We present a series of five cases, including four female patients and one male patient with metastatic cancer. Two women had metastatic small lung cancer and presented with diabetes insipidus (DI). Two women had metastatic breast cancer, of which one presented with DI and the other with panhypopituitarism. The male patient had bronchogenic adenocarcinoma and presented with DI. Conclusion: Our case series confirmed earlier reports that DI is the most common presentation of metastases to the pituitary gland.

Pituitary metastasis of salivary gland carcinoma mimicking hypophysitis: A case report and literature review

“…The pituitary gland is an uncommon metastasis site, constituting only 0.4 % of all intracranial metastatic tumors; moreover, less than 1 % of pituitary tumors require surgical intervention [ 1 ]. Most pituitary metastases are attributable to lung and breast cancers, with prostate and kidney cancers contributing to a lesser extent [ 2 ]. The incidence of pituitary metastases from salivary gland adenocarcinomas is also low.…”