Relapsing Long-Lasting Garcin Syndrome Revealing Skull Base Diffuse B Cell Lymphoma: The Diagnosis through the "Hartel's Route"

The Garcin syndrome is a rare condition characterized by multiple unilateral cranial nerve palsy, without neither long-tract involvement nor intracranial hypertension. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a systemic malignant disease that localizes in a minority of cases in the central nervous system. We report a case of Garcin syndrome that revealed a diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) located in the skull base and in the right kidney. We reached the diagnosis by mean of a nonstandard, mini-invasive, transforamen ovale biopsy of the intracranial lesion (Hartel's route). The nature of the renal mass was determined ex juvantibus. The patient responded to the polichemotherapy with a complete regression of the intracranial lesion and of the renal mass evaluated by computed tomography and total body positron emission tomography scans. We, therefore, confirmed the DLBCL location in the right kidney. Over 4 years of follow-up, the patient has showed a complete remission of the disease. In this report, we emphasize the importance of biopsy in case of Garcin syndrome.