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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · J Neurol Surg Rep 2021; 82(02): e11-e16
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1726305
Case Report

Tonsillar Carcinoma Spreading Metastases to Central Nervous System: Case Report and Literature Review

Shujhat Khan 
1   Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
,
Giulio Anichini
2   Department of neurosurgery, Charing Cross Hospital, London, United Kingdom
,
Areeb Mian
1   Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
,
Haider Kareem
2   Department of neurosurgery, Charing Cross Hospital, London, United Kingdom
,
Nelofer Syed
2   Department of neurosurgery, Charing Cross Hospital, London, United Kingdom
,
Kevin O'Neill
2   Department of neurosurgery, Charing Cross Hospital, London, United Kingdom
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
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Abstract

We present a case report of a 51-year-old left-handed male with a background of human papillomovairus 16-positive tonsil squamous cell carcinoma presenting with tonic-clonic seizure and a radiological diagnosis of secondary metastatic deposits. These were initially treated with stereotactic radiosurgery and subsequently with surgery. Surgical resection was performed under general anesthesia with right-sided temporal and parietal approaches. Both the parietal and temporal deposits were removed, while the intraventricular mass was intentionally left to avoid postoperative deficits. Adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy were administered postoperatively. The patient experienced a satisfactory recovery postoperatively and was reoperated for recurrence 4 months later. He maintained a good quality of life and an excellent performance status throughout, but unfortunately he passed away in November 2018 due to septic complications. This case history stresses the difficulty in managing squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) with brain metastatic deposits. There are no current guidelines about the management of patients presenting with such a rare condition. More data are thus desirable to better define treatment guidelines and protocols when SCC brain metastases are present.

Keywords

central nervous system metastasis - tonsillar squamous cell carcinoma - neurosurgery - oncology


Publication History

Received: 10 June 2020

Accepted: 17 November 2020

Article published online:
14 June 2021

© 2021. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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