[A case of metastatic Meckel's cave tumor (pancreatic cancer) presenting with Numb cheek syndrome].

Abstract

Case: A woman in her 70s. In May, a pancreatic tumor was detected during a medical checkup, and she visited the Department of Gastroenterology of our hospital. She had no subjective symptoms, but she was diagnosed with primary pancreatic cancer and multiple bone metastases. She was undergoing outpatient chemotherapy. In November of the same year, she became aware of numbness in the right cheek area and was referred to our department. Neurologically, abnormal sensation in the area of the second branch of the right trigeminal nerve was observed. Head computed tomography (CT)/MRI showed a mass lesion in the right Meckel's cave, and FDG-PET showed multiple bone lesions as well as abnormal accumulation in the right Meckel's cave. Based on the above, we diagnosed the patient with numb cheek syndrome due to metastasis of pancreatic cancer to Meckel's cave. Neurologists should be aware that numb cheek syndrome can occur in association with an underlying malignancy.