Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma metastatic to the brain.

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) has a predilection for the peripheral extremities, and brain metastases are rare, with only a few cases reported after the initial diagnosis. We present a 22-year-old male patient with a right orbital-ethmoidal ARMS who presented with a recurrence to the brain 1 year after the initial diagnosis. He was referred to our institution due to acute neurological deterioration. A brain MRI was performed, showing an enhancing bilateral parafalcine lesion centred about the bilateral cingulate gyri with extension into the corpus callosum. The patient was taken to the operating room for a stereotactic biopsy under general anaesthesia, which was compatible with metastatic ARMS. Our case is exceedingly rare, considering the initial diagnosis of an orbital/ethmoidal ARMS, its subsequent metastasis to the brain and its clinical sequelae after a biopsy. Prognosis after cerebral metastatic ARMS is dismal, with most patients expiring due to central nervous system metastatic disease.

A Rare Localized Pituitary Stalk Germinoma Presenting in the Third Decade.

We report the case of a 34-year-old male Hispanic patient who presented with an 8-month history of polyuria and decreased libido. An evaluation revealed hypopituitarism, central diabetes insipidus, and a pituitary stalk lesion. No evidence of a neoplasm or an inflammatory/infiltrative disease was found. We treated the patient conservatively with steroid therapy. However, as a result of disease progression, transsphenoidal surgery was performed to obtain tissue for a pathological analysis. Histopathology revealed an intrasellar germinoma, confirmed by immunochemistry. Due to localized disease, radiotherapy was initiated and clinical improvement was noted. This case emphasizes the importance of histopathological analysis; for many physicians, the presentation of a pituitary stalk lesion in a young male adult creates a clinical conundrum. Although the most common etiologies are an inflammatory or secondary neoplasm, the possible presence of an intrasellar neoplasm should not be ruled out. In many cases, imaging characteristics and tumor markers may aid in the diagnosis without the need of an aggressive diagnostic approach. However, in this case, histopathological analysis was the only way to make a correct diagnosis and provide adequate treatment for the patient.