Cranial nerve palsy in multiple myeloma and solitary plasmacytoma.

Cranial nerve involvement in multiple myeloma and solitary plasmacytoma is rare. We report on two patients who developed cranial nerve palsy due to skull base plasmacytoma. Patient 1, a 55-year old man with multiple myeloma, developed right sixth cranial nerve palsy during a phase of chemotherapy. He had an intracranial plasmacytoma in the clival region and was treated with 30 Gy whole brain radiotherapy. Patient 2, a 40-year old man, presented with right third cranial nerve palsy and was detected to have a solitary skull base plasmacytoma. He was treated with radiotherapy followed by thalidomide plus dexamethasone.