Neoplastic meningitis as the presenting manifestation of gastric adenocarcinoma.

A middle aged man presented with clinical signs of chronic meningitis, including bilateral hearing loss and progressive blindness. Lumbar puncture revealed a mild elevation in lymphocyte number, an elevation in protein levels, and diminished glucose levels, without malignant cells. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T2 weighted seqeunces showed bilateral enhancement of the acoustic nerves. The aetiology of the chronic meningitis was revealed gastric cancer by gastroscopy, and micrometastasis by bone marrow trephine biopsy. Although cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cytology was negative, neoplastic meningitis (NM) was diagnosed based on clinical and MRI data. The patient's condition worsened rapidly and he died shortly thereafter. Autopsy confirmed the presence of advanced gastric cancer (adenocarcinoma of signet-ring cell type) with pancreatic involvement, and NM with cancer cells on the meninges, but without infiltration tumour cells into underlying brain parenchyma. We conclude that NM as an initial symptom of gastric cancer is rare and ultimately fatal.