Pituitary Carcinoma Presenting as Nasopharyngeal Tumors with Reference to Ectopic Origin A Report of Three Cases

Abstract

Three cases of anaplastic chromophobe carcinoma simulating nasopharyngeal tumor have been reported. Two of them were patients under twenty year old, while the other was 41. The tumors showed no sign of endocrine function and diabetes insipidus and cachexia appeared only in the final stages in two cases. In these two cases the pituitary gland was surrounded and partially involved by the tumor and it was quite difficult to be sure whether the tumor was of normal pituitary origin or of ectopic origin. The remaining one had an almost normal pituitary gland located at a distance from the tumor which was considered to be an anaplastic chromophobe carcinoma arising in ectopic nasopharyngeal pituitary. The gross and microscopic characteristics of these tumors were discussed.