Pituitary apoplexy secondary to metastatic breast carcinoma into a gonadotroph cell adenoma of the pituitary

Abstract

A 65 year-old lady with metastatic breast cancer presented with pituitary apoplexy. Following surgery, histopathology confirmed metastatic breast carcinoma into a gonadotroph cell adenoma of the pituitary. Tumours that metastasise to a normal pituitary gland are unusual. More so, such neoplasm-to-neoplasm metastasis is extremely rare. This is, as far as we are aware, the first description of a metastasis into a gonadotroph cell pituitary adenoma presenting as apoplexy.

Keywords:

• Pituitary adenoma
• gonadotroph cell adenoma
• neoplasm-to-neoplasm metastasis
• breast cancer
• pituitary apoplexy

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest or relationships with industry to declare.