A lung cancer spread near the skull base looked like a common brain tumor
Original title: Lung adenocarcinoma dural metastasis at the petroclival region mimicking meningioma: a frozen-section diagnostic pitfall. Illustrative case.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This is a report on one patient, meant to warn doctors, not a test of a treatment.
The short version
A tumor that looked like one common type turned out to be lung cancer that had spread.
What was studied. Doctors wrote up one patient, a 74-year-old woman. She had a numb left lip and tongue, and double vision.
What they found. A scan showed a 21 x 16-mm mass near the base of her skull, on the left side. It looked like a meningioma, a tumor that grows from the lining around the brain. Surgeons removed it, and a quick test during surgery also said meningioma. The full lab test later showed it was lung cancer that had spread to the brain lining.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Tumors at the base of the skull can be hard to tell apart. A scan and a quick test during surgery can both point the wrong way. The full lab result is what settles the answer, and it may take longer to come back.
What it doesn't mean: This is one patient's story, not a study of a treatment. No new drug or new surgery was tested here. It is not a cure and it does not change anyone's care by itself. It is a warning for doctors that these two tumors can look alike.
Source: PubMed, August 24, 2026 · Read the original
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