An autopsy case of meningeal carcinomatosis with parenchymal invasion through the cranial and spinal nerve roots.
Meningeal carcinomatosis is a well-known complication of malignant neoplasms. We report a case of meningeal carcinomatosis of 2 months' duration in a 22-year-old man, in whom the initial symptom was gradually worsening headache. Postmortem examination revealed infiltrating adenocarcinoma of the stomach. Carcinoma cells showed diffuse spread to the subarachnoid space of the brain and spinal cord. In many places, subarachnoid tumor cells had infiltrated to the cranial and spinal nerves. Moreover, carcinoma cells in the nerve roots extended to the parenchyma of the brain and spinal cord beyond the CNS-peripheral nervous system junction. These findings suggest that cranial and spinal nerve roots can be a possible route of parenchymal invasion in meningeal carcinomatosis.
Department of Neuropathology, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Japan; Department of Neurology, Aomori Prefectural Central Hospital, Aomori, Japan.
Tomoya
T
Kon
Yukihisa
Y
Funamizu
Yasuo
Y
Miki
Masahiko
M
Tomiyama
Masayuki
M
Baba
Hidekachi
H
Kurotaki
Koichi
K
Wakabayashi
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology*; D000328:Adult; D003391:Cranial Nerves / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055756:Meningeal Carcinomatosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D013126:Spinal Nerve Roots / Q000473:pathology; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
cranial nerve; meningeal carcinomatosis; neoplastic meningitis; parenchymal invasion; spinal nerve root