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Updated: Jun 17, 2026
Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion Allowing Reperfusion via Common Carotid Artery Repair in Mice
Published on: January 23, 2019
Cisplatin-associated occlusion of the internal carotid artery
Thorleif Etgen1, Georg Weidenhöfer, Thomas Kubin
1Department of Neurology, Technische Universität München, Germany. thorleif.etgen@klinikum-traunstein.de
Background:
Cisplatin is a highly effective antineoplastic agent used also in germ cell cancer. Thromboembolic complications like pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction and stroke have occasionally been reported.
Case Report:
A 46-year-old man with seminoma and without any cerebrovascular risk factors developed an acute stroke with complete right-sided hemiparesis and global aphasia, during the second cycle of cisplatin-based chemotherapy. After exclusion of an intracerebral bleeding, a systemic thrombolysis was performed. Further diagnostics revealed an acute occlusion of the left carotid internal artery with infarction in the territory of the middle cerebral artery. The patient slowly recovered; however, a moderate aphasia and partial hemiparesis persisted whereas the tumor was in complete remission. Months later, the patient developed symptomatic epilepsy.
Conclusions:
Ischemic stroke associated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy is rare, but may be disabling or even fatal. With regard to the literature, several precautions are discussed to minimize the risk of these major side effects.
