Papageorgiou Georgios I, Skouteris Nikolaos
2nd Medical Oncology Department, IASO General Clinic, Athens, Greece.
Division of Medical Oncology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Unit, Department of Medicine, "Metaxa" Cancer Hospital, 51 Botassi Street, 18537 Piraeus, Greece.
Biomedicine (Taipei). 2025 Mar 1;15(1):53-56. doi: 10.37796/2211-8039.1641. eCollection 2025.
Phantosmia belongs to the group of olfactory dysfunctions. It is more commonly described in psychiatric conditions and some cases of viral infections, but it has been also rarely described in cancer patients who develop primary or metastatic central nervous system tumors; the early identification of this symptom in this population is crucial, as it could lead to timely diagnosis and treatment through a multidisciplinary approach. With the current report we present the case of a 60-year-old lady with metastatic breast cancer and without known preexisting brain metastases, who developed acute phantosmia without other neurological deficits; computed tomography of the brain revealed multiple brain metastases, which were attributed to the malignancy, and for which she was effectively treated with whole brain irradiation and antipsychotic as well as anticonvulsant medications. Furthermore, we underline the value of cooperation between the various specialties that could aid in diagnosis and management of this symptomatology. Phantosmia is an extremely rare symptom in cancer patients, and its appearance should alarm physicians to rapidly investigate a possible progression of disease in the central nervous system. Multidisciplinary approach is needed for the optimal management of these patients.
嗅觉幻觉属于嗅觉功能障碍的范畴。它在精神疾病和一些病毒感染病例中更为常见，但在发生原发性或转移性中枢神经系统肿瘤的癌症患者中也鲜有报道；在这一人群中早期识别该症状至关重要，因为这可能通过多学科方法实现及时诊断和治疗。通过本报告，我们呈现了一名60岁转移性乳腺癌女性患者的病例，该患者此前无已知脑转移，却出现了急性嗅觉幻觉且无其他神经功能缺损；脑部计算机断层扫描显示有多处脑转移，归因于恶性肿瘤，她接受了全脑放疗以及抗精神病药物和抗惊厥药物的有效治疗。此外，我们强调各专业之间合作对于该症状诊断和管理的价值。嗅觉幻觉在癌症患者中是极为罕见的症状，其出现应提醒医生迅速调查中枢神经系统疾病可能的进展情况。这些患者的最佳管理需要多学科方法。
