Intrasellar plasmacytoma: an illustrative case and literature review

Intrasellar plasmacytoma is a rare pituitary pathology. Pre-operative diagnosis remains a challenge as a sellar plasmacytoma mimics a pituitary adenoma in clinical and radiological features. We report a 45-year-old woman, known to have multiple myeloma, presenting to our clinic with a pituitary mass eventually diagnosed as a plasmacytoma. We review 26 similar cases reported in the literature and divide them into three categories, based on their presentation and follow-up data. Pitfalls in diagnosis and reported treatment modalities are also discussed. We conclude that presentation with cranial nerve palsies and an aggressive sellar mass on imaging, and without gross anterior hypophyseal hormonal imbalance, are features of a pituitary plasmacytoma. The presentation and follow-up characteristics may help to determine the prognosis of such patients.