Carcinomatous meningitis as a clinical manisfestation of pancreatic carcinoma

Abstract

Carcinomatous meningitis (CM) is clinically less common than brain metastasis or spinal cord compression, having dire consequences for both the quality of life and the overall survival of patients with solid tumors. It occurs in about 5% of all adult cancer patients, but autopsies may double this number. If leukemia and lymphoma are excluded, most cases are due to breast cancer, lung cancer and melanoma. In this report, we describe a 49-year-old male patient with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma who developed carcinomatous meningitis. To our knowledge, this is only the second case of carcinomatous meningitis secondary to a pancreatic carcinoma described so far.