Background: The majority of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia develop disease relapse in the central nervous system in the absence of central nervous system-directed prophylactic therapy. In the past, prophylactic cranial irradiation was commonly used in the form of whole-brain radiotherapy in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia to prevent the development of intracranial diseases. However, in addition to the inherent risk of toxicity, this type of therapy has several delayed side effects including the development of secondary intracranial tumors.
Case description: We report a rare case of a patient with concurrent pituicytoma, meningioma, and cavernomas 44 years after prophylactic cranial irradiation for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The patient presented with visual disturbance, headache, and features of hypopituitarism. Endoscopic transsphenoidal resection of the pituicytoma and meningioma was performed. Subsequent regrowth of the residual meningioma necessitated further surgery and adjuvant treatment with radiotherapy.
Conclusions: This case report highlights the unusual case of a patient with 3 concurrent intracranial lesions of distinct pathologies after prophylactic cranial irradiation therapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Keywords: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia; Cavernomas; Meningioma; Pituicytoma; Prophylactic cranial irradiation.
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