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DOI: 10.1055/s-2005-921935
Copyright © 2005 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.
Carcinoma of the Breast Metastatic to the Optic Nerve Mimicking an Optic Nerve Sheath Meningioma: Case Report and Review of the Literature
Publication History
Publication Date:
08 November 2005 (online)
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ABSTRACT
Isolated metastatic tumors to the optic nerve are extremely rare. We describe a rare and unusual case of metastatic breast carcinoma to the optic nerve that mimicked an optic nerve sheath meningioma in its presentation due to its indolent symptom progression, initial radiological appearance, and minimal growth on serial imaging. The patient, a 46-year-old woman with a history of stable metastatic breast carcinoma, presented with progressive visual loss in her right eye over a 6-month interval. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an enhancing lesion in the optic canal with an extension to the right anterior clinoid process and planum sphenoidale and into the right orbital apex, consistent with the presumptive diagnosis of optic nerve sheath meningioma. The tumor was resected and pathologically confirmed to be metastatic carcinoma of the breast. The clinical course, radiological features, surgical approach, and treatment strategies are reviewed.
KEYWORDS
Breast carcinoma - metastatic disease - ocular metastasis - optic nerve tumor - optic nerve sheath meningioma
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Franco DeMonteM.D.
Department of Neurosurgery, The University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
1515 Holcombe Blvd., Box 0442, Houston, TX 77030
Email: fdemonte@mdanderson.org