Incomplete cavernous sinus syndrome as the initial manifestation of a previously undetected metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma

Background Cavernous sinus syndrome presents as unilateral ophthalmoplegia associated with sympathetic denervation, pain, paresthesias, and V1 and V2 distribution numbness. The etiology may be vascular, inflammatory, infectious, and, less commonly, neoplastic (metastatic). Methods We report a patient with incomplete cavernous sinus syndrome as the initial manifestation of previously undetected metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma. Results A 59-year-old man presented with a 2-month history of left hemicranial headaches with ptosis and binocular diplopia. Clinical evaluation found left third, fourth, and sixth cranial nerve palsy with mydriasis and ptosis. An MRI showed an enhancing lesion at the clivus with infiltration of left cavernous sinus. A trans-sphenoidal biopsy was performed, leading to diagnosis of metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma. The patient underwent treatment and achieved clinical improvement. Conclusions In middle-aged men, it is important to include metastatic prostate adenocarcinoma in the differential diagnosis of cavernous sinus syndrome, even in the absence of primary tumor diagnosis.