Treatment Options for Carcinomatous Meningitis
Common treatment options for carcinomatous meningitis include:
– Intrathecal chemotherapy: In this procedure, chemotherapy drugs are injected into the intrathecal space, which stores the cerebrospinal fluid. This can be done with an Ommaya catheter or lumbar puncture. Studies have found that this treatment may extend the survival rate of people with carcinomatous meningitis.
– Radiation therapy: This treatment gets rid of cancer cells in the meninges with X-ray beams.
– Systemic chemotherapy: This procedure may be recommended for those people who cannot undergo surgery. It does not need the Ommaya catheter to be placed. A doctor may combine it with other treatment options as well. Systemic chemotherapy may improve the survival rates for those with different forms of cancer, including small-cell lung cancer and breast cancer.
– Targeted therapy: This procedure aims at the proteins that play a role in the division and growth of cancer cells, such as anaplastic lymphoma KIs in lung cancer, BRAF in melanoma, HER2 TKI in breast cancer, and epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors in lung cancer.
Other treatment options for carcinomatous meningitis include antidepressants, anticonvulsant drugs, opioids, and anti-anxiety medications. [8]
Outlook for People with Carcinomatous Meningitis
In many cases, people are diagnosed with carcinomatous meningitis when they are at late stages of cancer. Therefore, the outlook tends to be poor. With a treatment plan after diagnosis, the average survival time is between 2 and 4 months. But without treatment, the average survival time is between 4 and 6 weeks. The survival rate is a bit better in those with breast cancer, with around 5 to 7 months. However, many people can still manage to live for years, and it is likely that future treatments may improve the outlook for those with carcinomatous meningitis. [9]