An autopsied case of primary epipharyngeal rhabdomyosarcoma presenting Garcin syndrome

A 61-year-old housewife had complained of unilateral facial pain and had been treated as prolonged trigeminal neuralgia by a dentist. When she came to our clinic, the III-X cranial nerves of the right side were involved. A base view of the skull indicated destructive lesions of the right side middle cranial fossa, and a diagnosis of Garcin syndrome was made. Neurosurgical operation, X-ray radiation and chemotherapy improved to some extent the neurological condition temporarily. Postmortem examination showed an epipharyngeal rhabdomyosarcoma occupying the maxillary sinus, and extradural space of the cranial base on the right side.