Presentation of Garcin syndrome due to lung cancer

Abstract

Garcin syndrome consists of unilateral palsies of almost all cranial nerves without either sensory or motor long-tract disturbances and without intracranial hypertension, and it is caused by a malignant osteoclastic lesion at the skull base. A 60-year-old woman presented with dizziness and left facial palsy. Progressive left cranial nerve palsies developed over 2 months until gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed an intracranial extension of a tumor from the left skull base. A systemic survey revealed adenocarcinoma of the lung, which had metastasized along the skull base. We experienced a rare case of Garcin syndrome due to skull base metastases from lung cancer. © 2007International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.