Pituitary lymphoma developing within pituitary adenoma

Abstract

Lymphoma occurring in the pituitary gland is an exceedingly infrequent event. Here, we describe a case of pituitary lymphoma complicating recurrent pituitary adenoma. A 56-year-old male with a history of pituitary adenoma was diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) of the left ocular adnexa, which was successfully treated by standard chemotherapy and local radiotherapy. Eight months later, he complained of diplopia and bitemporal hemianopia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging detected a suprasellar tumor. Transsphenoidal biopsy of the mass was performed, and histopathological examination revealed DLBCL admixed with pituitary adenoma. On a review of the literature, we found that pituitary lymphoma developing within adenoma is a recurrent phenomenon. The composite tumor is likely to be characterized by suprasellar involvement and presentation of visual disturbances. Moreover, in the present case, the suprasellar tumor remained visible after autologous peripheral stem cell transplant, likely due to the residual pituitary adenoma. We therefore recommend that refractory pituitary lymphoma should be vigorously biopsied in search of possibly underlying adenoma.