Oishi M, Iida T, Koide M, Akazawa Y, Azuma Y, Fujisawa I, Takeuchi J
Department of Endocrinology, Kyoto National Hospital, Japan.
Neurosurgery. 1989 Sep;25(3):458-62. doi: 10.1097/00006123-198909000-00024.
A case of primary intrasellar germinoma in a 24-year-old woman is presented. Her initial symptoms were diabetes insipidus and headaches. The neurological examination found no abnormalities, but the endocrinological examination disclosed a deficiency in growth hormone secretion. Her skull x-ray revealed a normal sella turcica, and a computed tomographic scan revealed no abnormal mass in the pituitary fossa, but a slightly enlarged stalk. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a small tumor in the posterior lobe. Transsphenoidal exploration revealed a germinoma in the posterior pituitary lobe. Six cases of primary intrasellar germinoma, including our case, were reviewed. Our case is considered to be the smallest intrasellar germinoma yet reported.
