Metastatic renal cell carcinoma to the pituitary presenting with hyperprolactinemia

Metastases to the pituitary gland from systemic cancers is a rare phenomenon and usually occurs in patients with disseminated disease. The neurohypophysis is the most commonly involved site, and diabetes insipidus is the most common presentation in these patients. Breast and lung cancer are the most common cancers metastasizing to the pituitary. Involvement of the pituitary by renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is exceedingly rare. Mild-to-moderate degree of hyperprolactinemia is a rare presentation of pituitary metastases. We report the case of a woman with metastatic RCC to the pituitary presenting an unusually high degree of hyperprolactinemia. (C) 2004, Editrice Kurtis.