MENINGEAL CARCINOMATOSIS - REVIEW OF 30 C ASES

Meningeal carcinomatosis. Review of thirty cases The clinical features of 30 patients with carcinomatous meningitis caused by solid tumors a re reported. The most common originating sites of tumors were lung (12 cases) and breast (9 cases). Headache was the most common presenting symptom and there was involvement in more than one level of neuroaxis in 53% of cases. The CSF from the first lumbar puncture was abnormal i n all cases; pleocytosis and an increased protein level in CSF were of great diagnostic value when a positive cytology was absent. Only thre e patients were treated with intrathecal chemotherapy, with a median s urvival of six weeks since the onset of symptoms.