Leptomeningeal Metastases

Leptomeningeal disease (Lepto, LM or LMD) occurs when cancer cells had crossed into cerebral spinal fluid or CSF and are circulating within that fluid. It is a relatively rare complication of cancer and occurs in approximately 5–8% of patients with solid tumors.

LMD is almost never the first site in metastatic setting, that happens only in 5–10% of patients. It is usually a result of advanced disease progression with the median time from the diagnosis of metastatic disease to LMD ranging from 1.2–2 years in solid tumors. Roughly 50 to 80 percent of people (depending on the study) who have LMD also have brain metastases (within the brain rather than within the spinal fluid).