Metastatic breast carcinoma mimicking basal skull meningioma

Two women with breast carcinoma developed clinical evidence of a sphenocavernous syndrome with magnetic resonance (MRI) that suggested a basal skull meningioma but in whom biopsy of the lesion revealed metastatic breast carcinoma. The difficulties in distinguishing between the two lesions on the basis of standard MRI are discussed, as are newer imaging techniques that may reduce or eliminate these problems.