A case of isolated trigeminal sensory neuropathy secondary to radiologically-suspected metastatic brain tumor

Hemifacial sensory disturbance may be caused by a lesion in the marrow of the central nervous system. In that case, other neurologic symptoms such as four extremities, the trunkal sensory disturbance or cerebellar ataxia are often present. However, hemifacial sensory disturbance rarely appears in isolation. We report on a 70-year-old woman who showed only hemifacial sensory disturbance. It was suspected that the symptom was caused by a metastatic brain tumor. A characteristic of the case was that the metastasis to the pons produced hemifacial sensory disturbance. During the process of diagnosis of the hemifacial sensory disturbance, a cancer is not rarely detected. The possibility of a metastatic brain tumor should be taken into consideration for the diagnosis.