Open AccessThoracic spine metastasis presenting 18 years after complete resection of a phaeochromocytoma
Author(s) -
Lúcia Fadiga,
Joana Saraiva,
Isabel Paiva,
Francisco Carrilho
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
bmj case reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.231
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 1757-790X
DOI - 10.1136/bcr-2019-229621
Subject(s) - medicine , metastasis , biopsy , radiology , spinal cord compression , chromogranin a , neuroendocrine tumors , paraganglioma , surgery , spinal cord , pathology , cancer , immunohistochemistry , psychiatry
Phaeochromocytomas are rare neuroendocrine tumours (NET) with malignant behaviour in about 10% of cases. The median time from the diagnosis of primary tumour and bone metastasis is 3.4 years. We report a case of a 66-year-old woman presenting with a hypertensive crisis and back pain. She has a history of a phaeochromocytoma completely resected 18 years before. MRI showed a neoplastic mass on the 10th thoracic vertebra (T10), with fracture and spinal cord compression. The CT-guided biopsy was consistent with metastasis of a NET. Therefore, she was treated with phenoxybenzamine and external beam radiotherapy. However, clinical (dorsal pain) and biochemical (ie, elevated chromogranin A) signs suggested persistent disease and the patient was treated with iodine-131 metaiodobenzylguanidine and T10 kyphoplasty. After 8 years, she remains clinically stable. This case demonstrates that phaeochromocytomas may reveal malignant behaviour several years after diagnosis, and therefore patients should be maintained under long term surveillance.