Metastatic extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma to the cerebellopontine angle: a case report and review of the literature.
Abstract
Extrapulmonary small cell carcinomas (EPSCC) are rare malignancies with poor patient
prognoses. We present the case of a 63-year-old male who underwent surgical resection
of a poorly differentiated small cell carcinoma, likely from a small intestinal primary
tumor that metastasized to the cerebellopontine angle (CPA). A 63-year-old male presented
with mild left facial paralysis, hearing loss, and balance instability. MRI revealed
a 15 mm mass in the left CPA involving the internal auditory canal consistent with
a vestibular schwannoma. Preoperative MRI eight weeks later demonstrated marked enlargement
to 35 mm. The patient underwent a suboccipital craniectomy and the mass was grossly
different visually and in consistency from a standard vestibular schwannoma. The final
pathology revealed a poorly differentiated small cell carcinoma. Postoperative PET
scan identified avid uptake in the small intestine suggestive of either a small intestinal
primary tumor or additional metastatic disease. The patient underwent whole brain
radiation therapy and chemotherapy and at last follow-up demonstrated improvement
in his symptoms. Surgical resection and radiotherapy are potential treatment options
to improve survival in patients diagnosed with NET brain metastases. We present the
first documented case of skull base metastasis of a poorly differentiated small cell
carcinoma involving the CPA.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15824Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1155/2015/847058Publication Info
Theodros, Debebe; Goodwin, C Rory; Crane, Genevieve M; Liauw, Jason; Kleinberg, Lawrence;
& Lim, Michael (2015). Metastatic extrapulmonary small cell carcinoma to the cerebellopontine angle: a case
report and review of the literature. Case Rep Oncol Med, 2015. pp. 847058. 10.1155/2015/847058. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15824.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Courtney Rory Goodwin
Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery

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