Clival keloid after nasopharyngeal radium irradiation masquerading as skull base malignancy

Abstract

Nonchordomatous lesions of the clivus are rare entities. Nasopharyngeal radium irradiation (NRI) treatment consists of application of radium to the posterior nasopharynx near the orifice of the Eustachian tubes, an area adjacent to the clivus. Here we present a unique case of a patient with a history of NRI 70 years prior to presentation with a space-occupying clival lesion suspicion for a skull-based malignancy. This lesion was resected using an endoscopic endonasal approach. Histopathological analysis revealed a clival keloid, an entity not previously reported in the literature.