Case Report
Primary Clear Cell Microcystic Adenoma of the Sinonasal Cavity:
Pathological or Fortuitous Association?
Rosalin Cooper,
1
Hannah Markham,
1
Jeffery Theaker,
1
Adrian Bateman,
1
David Bunyan,
2
Matthew Sommerlad,
1
Gillian Crawford,
3,4
and Diana Eccles
3,4
1
Department of Cellular Pathology, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
2
Wessex Regional Genetics Laboratory, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, Salisbury, UK
3
University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
4
Wessex Clinical Genetics Service, University Hospitals Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
Correspondence should be addressed to Rosalin Cooper; rosalinanisha.cooper@uhs.nhs.uk
Received 13 August 2016; Revised 14 December 2016; Accepted 15 January 2017; Published 5 February 2017
Academic Editor: Adriana Handra-Luca
Copyright © 2017 Rosalin Cooper et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Primary clear cell microcystic adenoma of the sinonasal cavity is rare. It has previously been described only as a VHL-associated
tumour. Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) syndrome is an inherited cancer syndrome characterised by an elevated risk of neoplasia
including clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), haemangioblastoma, and phaeochromocytoma. We describe the second reported
case of a primary clear cell microcystic adenoma of the sinonasal cavity. Te 39-year-old patient with VHL syndrome had previously
undergone resection and ablation of ccRCC. He presented with epistaxis. Imaging demonstrated a mass in the ethmoid sinus. Initial
clinical suspicion was of metastatic ccRCC. However, tumour morphology and immunoprofle were distinct from the previous
ccRCC and supported a diagnosis of primary microcystic adenoma. Analysis of DNA extracted from sinonasal tumour tissue did
not show loss of the wild-type allele at the VHL locus. Although this did not support tumour association with VHL disease, it was
not possible to look for a loss-of-function mutation. Te association of primary microcystic adenoma of the sinonasal cavity with
VHL disease remains speculative. Tese lesions are benign but are likely to require regular surveillance. Such tumours may require
repeated surgical excision.
1. Introduction
Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is a cancer syndrome
characterised by an increased risk of multiple tumour types
occurring across diferent organ systems. Tese include
haemangioblastomas within the central nervous system and
characteristic visceral lesions including clear cell renal cell
carcinoma (ccRCC) and phaeochromocytoma [1]. Microcys-
tic pancreatic lesions can also occur in the context of VHL
disease [2]. Afected individuals carry germline mutations in
the VHL tumour-suppressor gene with loss of the wild-type
allele (normal gene copy) in a VHL disease-associated organ
system leading to tumour formation [1, 3].
Sinonasal tumours are rare [4, 5]. Common benign
lesions include inverted papillomas and osteomas [4], whilst
common malignant lesions include squamous cell carcinoma
and adenocarcinoma [5]. Tere has been only one reported
case of a primary clear cell microcystic adenoma of the
sinonasal cavity in the literature [6]. In this previously
reported case, molecular analysis of tumour DNA confrmed
tumour VHL disease association. Here we describe the sec-
ond reported case of primary clear cell microcystic adenoma
of the sinonasal cavity.
2. Case Report
2.1. Clinical History. A 39-year-old man with molecularly
confrmed VHL disease presented with epistaxis in 2012.
Molecular analysis had confrmed a germline VHL mutation
in 2004. He had previously undergone excision of cerebellar
haemangioblastoma in 2003. He had also undergone bilateral
nephron sparing surgery for ccRCC (stage pT1a, Fuhrman
grade up to 3) in 2005 and renal radiofrequency ablation in
both 2008 and 2012. CT imaging demonstrated an ethmoid
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Case Reports in Pathology
Volume 2017, Article ID 9236780, 5 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/9236780