Abstract
We describe a 48-year-old female with an isolated unilateral hypoglossal nerve palsy caused by a skull base metastasis from breast cancer. The patient had a medical history of conservative breast therapy for breast cancer. Although the cause of such a neurological deficit includes various pathologies, the reports focusing on metastatic tumor have been limited in number. Radiologic investigation showed a mass involving both the right hypoglossal canal and the clivai edge. Swelling of the hypoglossal nerve was observed in views including its canal. Three-dimensional CT images demonstrated the tumor protruding from the enlarged external orifice of the hypoglossal canal. In the present report we mentioned a nuclear medicine procedure to visualize and characterize the small, abnormal tissue in the skull base. Dual-isotope SPECT confirmed an abnormal uptake of99mTc-HMDP around the hypoglossal canal and a201Tl-positive elongated lesion running along the hypoglossal nerve.
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Fukumoto, M., Osaki, Y., Yoshida, D. et al. Dual-isotope SPECT diagnosis of a skull-base metastasis causing isolated unilateral hypoglossal nerve palsy. Ann Nucl Med 12, 213–216 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03164848
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03164848