Chiasmal compression from metastatic cancer to the pituitary gland.

A case of chiasmal compression and panhypopituitarism from carcinoma of the breast metastatic to the pituitary gland is presented. A review of the subject of metastatic disease of the pituitary emphasizes the paucity of clinical involvement in most cases. Posterior pituitary insufficiency is the most common manifestation, with anterior pituitary involvement being much rarer, and chiasmal compression the least common.