Primary Nasal-Type Natural Killer/T-Cell Lymphoma of Pterygopalatine Fossa

Abstract

Primary tumors that originated from the pterygopalatine fossa are seen rarely. In this paper, the case of a 69-year-old woman who complained of a 2-month history of headache, extending to the left part of the face, teeth, and shoulder, is reported. She had undergone right total mastectomy and axillar dissection of a spindle cell-type metaplastic carcinoma of the breast 1 year ago. Computed tomographic and magnetic resonance images showed a mass originating from the pterygopalatine fossa. Pathologic examination of the biopsy specimen of the mass revealed a nasal-type extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma with CD45(+) and intense CD56(+) staining. Our case shows that a nasal-type extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma should be thought in mind for the differential diagnosis of primary tumors of the pterygopalatine fossa.