Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0012833 (dizziness)
 9,689 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We present two patients with leptomeningeal metastases (LM) from lung adenocarcinoma that progressed or newly developed, respectively, during gefitinib therapy which had exhibited substantial antitumor effects on widespread lesions. In both cases, a switch to erlotinib therapy brought about long-lasting dramatic symptomatic improvement and markedly prolonged survival. The first patient is a 46-year-old female who presented with progressive headache and vomiting. Multiple pulmonary, hepatic and bone metastases immediately shrank in response to gefitinib. However, 1 month after completion of concurrent whole brain radiation, dizziness and urinary retention newly emerged, worsening the symptoms observed at presentation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated enlargement of ventricles and new gadolinium (Gd)-enhanced disseminated nodules on the surface of the cerebral cortex, suggesting the existence of uncontrollable LM. Sequential erlotinib therapy resulted in symptomatic improvement with a finding of regression of Gd-enhancement on MRI. The beneficial effect lasted for 10 months, though a follow-up brain MRI showed further enlarged ventricles. She finally died due to LM after surviving for 11 months under erlotinib treatment. The other patient is a 55-year-old female in whom headache and vomiting occurred while gefitinib therapy had maintained shrinkage of all pre-existing tumors in the thorax and bones. Brain MRI strongly suggested occurrence of LM with a finding of Gd-enhanced sulci. A switch to erlotinib therapy relieved the symptoms with disappearance of Gd-enhancement. However, the symptoms recurred with a finding of further enlargement of ventricles on brain MRI after 11 months. Finally, she died due to LM after surviving for 12 months under erlotinib treatment.
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PMID:Two cases of leptomeningeal metastases from lung adenocarcinoma which progressed during gefitinib therapy but responded to erlotinib. 2159 53

Introduction. Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis occurs in about 5% of cancer patients. Ocular involvement is a common clinical manifestation and often the presenting clinical feature. Materials and Methods. We report the case of a 52-year old lady with optic neuritis as isolated manifestation of neoplastic meningitis and a review of ocular involvement in neoplastic meningitis. Ocular symptoms were the presenting clinical feature in 34 patients (83%) out of 41 included in our review, the unique manifestation of meningeal carcinomatosis in 3 patients (7%). Visual loss was the presenting clinical manifestation in 17 patients (50%) and was the most common ocular symptom (70%). Other ocular signs were diplopia, ptosis, papilledema, anisocoria, exophthalmos, orbital pain, scotomas, hemianopsia, and nystagmus. Associated clinical symptoms were headache, altered consciousness, meningism, limb weakness, ataxia, dizziness, seizures, and other cranial nerves involvement. All patients except five underwent CSF examination which was normal in 1 patient, pleocytosis was found in 11 patients, increased protein levels were observed in 16 patients, and decreased glucose levels were found in 8 patients. Cytology was positive in 29 patients (76%). Conclusion. Meningeal carcinomatosis should be considered in patients with ocular symptoms even in the absence of other suggestive clinical symptoms.
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PMID:Optic neuritis as isolated manifestation of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis: a case report and systematic review of ocular manifestations of neoplastic meningitis. 2422 6

We report a case of brain metastasis from rectal cancer a long time after the initial resection. A 62-year-old woman, diagnosed with lower rectal cancer with multiple synchronous liver and lung metastases, underwent abdominoperineal resection after preoperative radiochemotherapy (40 Gy at the pelvis, using the de Gramont regimen FL therapy: 1 kur). The histological diagnosis was a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma. Various regimens of chemotherapy for unresectable and metastatic colorectal cancer were administered, and a partial response was obtained; thereby, the metastatic lesions became resectable. The patient underwent partial resection of the liver and lung metastases. Pathological findings confirmed that both the liver and lung lesions were metastases from the rectal cancer. A disease-free period occurred for several months; however, there were recurrences of the lung metastases, so we started another round of chemotherapy. After 8 months, she complained of vertigo and dizziness. A left cerebellar tumor about 3 cm in diameter was revealed by MRI and neurosurgical excision was performed. Pathological findings confirmed a cerebellar metastasis from the rectal cancer. Twenty months after resection of the brain tumor, the patient complained of a severe headache. A brain MRI showed hydrocephalia, and carcinomatous meningitis from rectal cancer was diagnosed by a spinal fluid cytology test. A ventriculo-peritoneal shunt was inserted, but the cerebrospinal pressure did not decreased and she died 20 months after the first surgery. Although brain metastasis from colorectal cancer is rare, the number of patients with brain metastasis is thought to increase in the near future. Chemotherapy for colorectal cancer is effective enough to prolong the survival period even if multiple metastases have occurred. However, after a long survival period with lung metastases such as in our case, there is a high probability of developing brain metastases.
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PMID:[A Case of Brain Metastasis from Rectal Cancer with Synchronous Liver and Lung Metastases after Multimodality Treatment--A Case Report]. 2680 12