Nasopharyngeal carcinoma misdiagnosed as pituitary tumor with multiple cranial neuropathies

Abstract

Multiple cranial neuropathies have been reported in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is an uncommon cause of multiple cranial nerve palsies. However, it is difficult to diagnose at the early stage; furthermore, it can be easily misdiagnosed as inflammation, pituitary tumor, etc. A 38-year-old female patient had an ipsilateral 3 rd, 5 th, 6 th, and 7 th cranial nerves injury in this study. She was successively misdiagnosed with nonspecific inflammation and pituitary tumor. More than 1 year later, she was diagnosed with invasive nasopharyngeal carcinoma.