[Signet-ring cell carcinomatous meningitis complicating esophageal neoplasia]

Leptomeningeal invasion is an uncommon complication of systemic solid cancers. We describe a patient with such an infiltration caused by a signet-ring cells esophageal adenocarcinoma. The diagnosis required repeated cytologic examinations of cerebrospinal fluid while clinical signs and biological data were not conclusive, mimicking acute infectious meningoencephalitis. Magnetic resonance imaging was highly contributive in establishing the diagnosis. Nevertheless this is a very rare complication of esophageal cancers as this metastatic location occurred in advanced stages of the disease and as we know the poor prognosis of those cancers.