Int Neurourol J.  2011 Sep;15(3):176-178.

Atrophy of the Tongue as the Presenting Feature of Metastatic Prostate Cancer

• Abdullah Z
• Darrad M
• Pathak S

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed solid organ cancer in men and is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men in the United Kingdom. Commonly, it metastasizes to bones and lymph nodes, however, in advanced hormonerefractory disease it may involve the skull base leading to associated cranial nerve palsies. Cranial nerve palsy as the presenting feature of advanced hormone-sensitive prostate cancer is extremely rare. To the best of our knowledge, we report the first case of solitary hypoglossal nerve palsy as the presenting feature of advanced prostate cancer. Neurologists, neurosurgeons and otolaryngologists may be the first clinicians to see such a patient; therefore, prostate cancer should be amongst the differential diagnoses considered in middle-aged and elderly men presenting with a cranial neuropathy and evidence of skull metastasis.

Keyword

Cranial nerve palsy; Prostatic neoplasms; Skull base; Metastases

MeSH Terms

Aged
Atrophy
Cranial Nerve Diseases
Diagnosis, Differential
Great Britain
Humans
Hypoglossal Nerve Diseases
Lymph Nodes
Male
Neoplasm Metastasis
Prostate
Prostatic Neoplasms
Skull
Skull Base
Tongue