Metastatic lung cancer presenting with jugular foramen syndrome in a case of von Recklinghausens disease

Metastatic carcinomas from a distant primary malignancy involving the temporal bone particularly the jugular foramen are rare tumors. A 57-year-old gentleman had multiple gradually increasing swellings over the body since many years. For last two years, he noticed enlargement of the swelling in left calf and rapidly enlarging painful new swelling over the left chest wall in back for last one year. He had recent involvement of left seventh, eighth and lower cranial nerves. CT scan showed an extensive lesion in left jugular foramen region with bone destruction. The patient underwent decompression of the left jugular foramen mass lesion. The tumor was extremely vascular and a partial decompression could only be performed. Although there was relief in the headache but the neurological deficits were persisting. Histopathology of the tumor showed features of metastatic small ling cancer. In the present case, there was presence of long standing multiple swelling all over the body and the patient had painful enlargement that he perceived as an ongoing process of the von Recklinghausen′s disease and made a delay in seeking the medical advice resulting in a well advanced disease and with poor prognosis.

Keywords
Skull base tumors, metastasis, cranial nerve palsy, von Recklinghausen′s disease, small cell cancer, lung cancer, jugular foramen, glomus jugulare tumor