Recoverin-associated retinopathy secondary to Warthin tumor of parotid gland

To present a case of photoreceptor degeneration associated with a benign Warthin tumor of the parotid gland.

A 57-year-old man visited our clinic complaining of blurred vision in both eyes. His best-corrected visual acuity was 0.07 in the right and 0.04 in the left eyes. All components of the full-field electroretinograms (ERGs) were reduced in both eyes. The focal macular ERGs were extinguished in both eyes, which was consistent with the deterioration of the outer retina in optical coherence tomographic images. Positron emission tomography showed (18)F-fluorodeoxy glucose accumulation in the left parotid gland. Parotidectomy was performed, and the histopathology of the specimen had features compatible with a Warthin tumor without malignancy. Western blot analysis of the patient's sera detected an antibody against recoverin. In addition, the tumor tissue had an aberrant expression of recoverin.

The findings in this case indicate that recoverin-associated retinopathy can develop secondary to a benign Warthin tumor.