A Rare Case of Brain Metastases in an Elderly Patient With Primary Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is an extremely aggressive cancer with a low survival rate. Common sites for metastases include the liver and lungs, while brain metastases are considered extremely rare, especially in elderly patients. We present an elderly female patient who developed brain metastases 51 months after the initial diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and was treated with gross tumor resection, chemotherapy, and stereotactic radiosurgery. The treatment completely resolved her neurological symptoms but did not result in improved survival for this patient. The patient developed generalized tonic-clonic seizures, was diagnosed with leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, and died 5.5 months after tumor resection. The literature on pancreatic cancer with brain metastases is scarce, with limited guidelines for treatment strategies in this patient population. Adding this case report to the existing literature may provide additional guidance to clinicians managing patients with similar presentations.