Hypopharyngeal paraganglioma with a paraneoplastic neurologic syndrome: a case report

We report an extremely rare case of hypopharyngeal paraganglioma that was accompanied by a paraneoplastic neurologic syndrome (PNS).

The clinical, radiological, and histopathologic findings of the patient are presented.

A 49-year-old woman presented with a history of progressive asthenia of the lower extremities persisting for 2 months. She also experienced numbness and sensory disturbance of the left lower limbs, 2 epileptic seizures, and constipation during the period. Clinical and radiological evaluations suggested the diagnosis of encephalomyelitis in combination with a left hypopharyngeal mass lesion. The patient underwent surgical excision of the lesion, which subsequently resolved her symptoms. Postoperative pathology was consistent with a paraganglioma. There was no evidence of local recurrence or distant metastasis of the tumor on recent follow-up.

To the best of our knowledge, our patient represents the third reported case of hypopharyngeal paraganglioma, and the only one to have a paraneoplastic syndrome.