Durable Response to Pazopanib in Recurrent Metastatic Carotid Body Paraganglioma

Abstract

We present the case of a 26-year-old woman living at a high altitude diagnosed initially with nonfamilial and nonsecretory localized carotid body tumor managed with surgery, which developed into a recurrent metastatic tumor treated with cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and dacarbazine. The patient continued to progress and developed a left carotid artery thrombosis and worsening of her systemic symptoms. The patient was re-evaluated, and she decided on no further surgery or systemic therapy. DOTATATE positron emission tomography/computed tomography showed widespread somatostatin-avid disease involving the left carotid bulb mass, bilateral lung nodules, and liver metastases, with the largest in the right hepatic lobe measuring 8 × 7 cm. There were peripancreatic lymph nodes and scattered skeletal metastases. The patient sought a second opinion, on the basis of which she was prescribed pazopanib, to which she showed a dramatic clinical response after 1 month, followed by a durable response for 1 year. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as pazopanib are potentially useful in paraganglioma, with further studies needed to understand the role of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-directed kinase inhibitors in this setting.