Meningeal carcinomatosis
W. H. Theodore and S. Gendelman
We reviewed 33 cases of meningeal carcinomatosis seen at the Mount Sinai
Hospital, New York, from 1970 through 1979. The major sources of meningeal
disease were carcinoma of the breast (21 cases), carcinoma of the lung
(five), and malignant melanoma (five). Seventy-eight percent of the
patients had widespread metastases at the time of neurologic diagnosis. A
combination of radiotherapy and intrathecal administration of methotrexate
was the most successful treatment, and 14 of 22 treated patients showed at
least symptomatic improvement; however, mean survival in the most improved
group was still less than six months.
