• Zhe Sun, Yang Cao, and Lin-Zhu Zhai.
• First clinical medical college of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong,China Department of Oncology Center, the First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Feb 1; 96 (5): e5930e5930.

RationaleA cholesterol granuloma (CG) is usually found in the middle ear, papilla, orbits, petrous apex, and choroid plexus, but is highly uncommon in the skull. In spite of benign clinicopathological lesions, bone erosion can be seen occasionally in the patient with CG. The optimal treatment strategy is radical surgery, but complete excision is usually impossible due to anatomical restrictions and a risk of injury to the key structures located nearby. Here, we report a patient with CGs in the suprasellar and sellar regions who was successfully treated with Java brucea and Chinese herbal medicine.Patient ConcernsA 31-year-old man presenting with progressive decreased vision in both eyes was analyzed.DiagnosesA skull magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan showed a low-density tumor in the uprasellar and sellar regions and histopathological examination revealed a CG.InterventionsThe patient was referred the surgery and radiotherapy. In the meantime, brucea soft capsules and herbal medicine combined were administered to him.OutcomesThe related clinical symptoms and signs resolved significantly after several months, as his therapy progressed. The patient showed no sign of recurrence during the treatment period. Furthermore, he was still alive and disease-free at 37 months of follow-up visit.LessonsOverall, brucea soft capsules and a Chinese herbal formula treatment combined could be beneficial in improving the patient's quality of life with CG in the skull.

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