Abstract
Meningeal carcinomatosis is caused by diffuse metastasis from solid malignant tumors to the leptomeninges. In this article we report a case of meningeal carcinomatosis, which initially presented as unilateral sudden profound hearing loss and was finally diagnosed by cerebrospinal fluid cytology.
A 42-year-old woman with a history of breast cancer was seen at our hospital complaining of dizziness and tinnitus in her left ear. Six days later, she suffered left sudden hearing loss, and left facial palsy was seen two weeks later. No tumor was evident on either magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography. One month later, diplopia and severe headache appeared and she was diagnosed with meningeal carcinomatosis by cerebrospinal fluid cytology.
Consideration of the possibility of meningeal carcinomatosis is necessary when diagnosing sudden profound hearing loss in a patient with a history of the malignant tumor.
