The coexistence of recurrent pituitary adenoma and meningioma: case report

The coexistence of pituitary adenoma and meningioma is very rare. Here, we present a case of recurrent non-functioning pituitary adenoma and temporal lobe meningioma in a patient without previous irradiation. A 73-year-old woman underwent a right-sided craniotomy of pituitary adenoma for visual deficits 30 years ago. She presented again with a 2-year history of lack of alertness, confusion and visual deficits. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a recurrent pituitary adenoma and a left temporal lobe tumour. The patient underwent a left frontotemporal craniotomy. After the surgery, the patient showed improvement in neurological symptoms. The histology of the sellar region tumour revealed that it was a pituitary adenoma, and the histology of the temporal lobe tumour demonstrated that it was a meningioma of transitional type. The coexistence of pituitary adenoma and meningioma is a very rare surgical entity, especially in a patient with recurrent pituitary adenoma. Although this co-occurrence is rare, more cases and additional studies are necessary to explain these unusual findings.