Duodenal metastasis from large cell carcinoma of the lung: report of a case

A Rare Presentation of Poorly Differentiated Lung Carcinoma with Duodenal Metastasis and Literature Review

Lung cancer is a common malignancy which is frequently found to metastasize to distant sites including bone, liver, and adrenal glands. There are rare reports of metastases to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, with the duodenum being the most uncommon. We present a rare case of a poorly differentiated lung carcinoma metastasizing to the duodenum. This case enhances the medical literature as it provides additional distinct features to the clinical and histological presentation of metastatic lung carcinoma to the GI tract. A 61-year-old male with a history of poorly differentiated lung carcinoma presented with worsening dizziness, fatigue, and early satiety. He had extensive workup done in the past for hemoptysis including a computerized tomography scan of the chest which showed a new lobulated, apical lesion and hilar lymphadenopathy. He ultimately had a transthoracic fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of the mass and was later diagnosed with poorly differentiated lung carcinoma. On examination, the patient was noted to be pale, tachycardic, and hypotensive. The patient was noted to have an acute drop in his hemoglobin requiring fluid resuscitation, multiple blood transfusions, and evaluation with an esophagogastroduodenoscopy. He was found to have an oozing ulcer in the third portion of the duodenum whose biopsies showed poorly differentiated carcinoma with areas of neuroendocrine differentiation, similar to his lung biopsy results, which was consistent with metastatic lung carcinoma.

Rare Case of Duodenal Metastasis From Pulmonary Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common non-small cell malignancy of the lung. It commonly metastasizes to the adrenal glands, bone, liver, brain, and kidneys. Most occurrences of metastatic squamous cell carcinoma involving the gastrointestinal tract originate from primary lung tumors. Metastasis to the duodenum, however, is exceedingly rare, with very few cases of stomach or duodenal involvement described in the literature. We report the case of a patient with stage IV pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma metastasizing to the duodenum with an uncommon presentation to add to the paucity of literature available regarding this rare finding.

A Case of Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma With Duodenal Metastasis on FDG PET/CT

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tends to have distant metastasis. However, metastasis from NSCLC to the small bowel is uncommon, and duodenal metastasis from NSCLC is extremely rare. FDG PET/CT findings of duodenal metastasis from NSCLC have not been reported in the literature. In this case, we report FDG PET/CT findings in a 61-year-old NSCLC patient with biopsy-proven metastasis in the transverse duodenum.

Oral and gastrointestinal symptomatic metastases as initial presentation of lung cancer

Metastasis to the tongue, duodenum or pancreas from primary lung cancer is uncommon. Primary lung cancer presenting with symptoms related to metastases at these sites, at initial presentation is extremely rare. We report a 45-year-old man with disseminated lung malignancy who presented with dyspepsia, melena, symptoms due to anaemia and swelling in the tongue. Oral examination revealed a hard submucosal anterior tongue lesion. Biopsies from the tongue lesion and the duodenal ulcer seen on upper gastrointestinal endoscopy were suggestive of metastasis from lung primary. CT revealed lung primary with disseminated metastasis to lung, liver, adrenals, kidneys, head and body of pancreas, duodenum and intra-abdominal lymph nodes. The patient was treated with palliative chemotherapy. The unusual presentation and diagnostic details are discussed.

Iron deficiency anemia as initial presentation of a non-small cell lung carcinoma: A case report

Duodenal metastases secondary to lung cancer are very rare and most of the time asymptomatic. When symptomatic they usually present with bowel obstruction or perforation. We here describe the case of a 68 year-old man with a solitary metastasis in the duodenum from a non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). The patient presented with reduced exercise tolerance and iron deficiency anemia without clinical gastrointestinal blood loss. Further investigation showed a tumor in the left upper lung lobe and a duodenal metastasis for which he received chemotherapy. To the best of our knowledge this is the first case report of iron deficiency anemia as initial presentation of a duodenal metastasis from a NSCLC.

Duodenal metastasis from lung adenocarcinoma: A rare cause of melena

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Duodenal metastasis.

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Melena and microcytic anemia.

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Lung carcinoma.

Introduction

We report a rare case of duodenal metastasis from primary lung adenocarcinoma presented with history of melena and weight loss.

Presentation of case

A 52-year-old smoker man presented with six months history of epigastric pain, melena and weight loss. Esophago-gastroduodenoscopy revealed a 10 mm ulcerative lesion in the fourth part of duodenum. Histopathology of resected lesion showed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Tumor cells showed immunopositivity for cytokeratin-7 (CK7), thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1), and immunonegativity for CK20, Villin, CDX2 and thyroglobulin, supporting the diagnosis of metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lung origin. Computed tomography (CT) of chest revealed left hilar mass encasing the main pulmonary artery associated with ipsilateral hilar and contralateral mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Bronchoscopy assisted biopsy of lung mass confirmed the diagnosis of primary adenocarcinoma. Patient was staged as T4N3M1. After the resection of duodenal metastasis followed by three cycles of cisplatinum based chemotherapy with Bevacizumab, melena resolved completely.

Discussion

Duodenal metastases from lung adenocarcinoma are extremely uncommon, and rarely produce symptoms. Most of cases require duodenectomy or pancreatico-duodenectomy for symptomatic relief. For smaller duodenal metastatic lesions (≤1 cm) endoscopic resection is a feasible therapeutic option.

Conclusion

Although rare, duodenal metastasis from lung adenocarcinoma should also be included in the differential diagnosis of melena. Smaller lesions (≤1 cm) can safely be managed with endoscopic resection.

The management of non-small cell lung cancer with oligometastases

In the absence of persuasive findings from the trials outlined earlier, the available evidence supports treating patients with a solitary site of M1 disease with induction chemotherapy followed by resection of all sites of disease as long as patients understand that this multimodality approach has not been proven to be superior to either surgery alone or chemotherapy alone.

A case of lung squamous cell carcinoma with metastases to the duodenum and small intestine

Gastrointestinal metastasis of lung cancer is fairly rare, and metastasis to the duodenum is very uncommon. We report a case of duodenum and small intestine metastases of lung squamous cell carcinoma. The patient was a 66-year-old man. He was diagnosed with lung squamous cell carcinoma (T4N3M1 [mediastinum, cervical lymph node, and duodenum metastases], stage IV). He noted a sense of abdominal fullness on the evening of the day chemoradiotherapy was given, and emergency surgery was performed for suspected perforation of the digestive tract. Intraoperative findings included a tumor in the small intestine with a perforation at the tumor site; partial resection of the small intestine, including the tumor, was performed. Small intestine metastasis of lung cancer was diagnosed following histopathologic examination. When lung cancer patients complain of abdominal symptoms, it is important to consider gastrointestinal metastases in diagnosis and treatment.

A case of lung cancer metastasized to the gastrointestinal anastomosis site where the primary gastric cancer was resected 17 years ago

Metastasis from lung cancer, often found in the adrenal glands, bone, liver, brain, and kidneys, have been thought to be rare in the digestive system. When a metastatic tumor is found in the intestine, it is most commonly metastatic melanoma or carcinoma of the cervix uteri, ovary, or breast. Yet, intestinal metastases have been described in 11% of lung cancers at autopsy. These metastases may induce gastrointestinal perforation, obstruction, or bleeding. Patients with bleeding from small intestinal metastases secondary to lung cancer almost uniformly have poor prognoses. The lung cancer metastasized to the gastrointestinal site or location where a first primary cancer was once resected is never reported in the literature. We report the case of a 76-year-old man with a history of gastric adenocarcinoma treated by subtotal gastrectomy seventeen years ago who presented with lung cancer metastatic to the bone. One month later, he developed persistent melena due to duodenal metastases. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed an ulcerative duodenal mass with bleeding. The pathohistological and immunohistochemical examinations of tissue from the pathologic fracture and the endoscopic biopsy specimen revealed metastatic poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma consistent with lung origin. The diagnosis of metastatic lung cancer can be rendered based on pathologic examination and immunohistochemical analysis, even without access to the primary lung tumor. In this case, the anastomosis site where a gastrectomy for gastric cancer was once performed might be a good niche or microenvironment for cancer cells or tumor stem cells to metastasize to.

Metastasis of the gastrointestinal tract: FDG-PET imaging

We assess the usefulness of F-18-fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) in the evaluation of gastrointestinal metastases. Four cases (five lesions) in which metastases from three lung cancers and one malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) of the femur were found in the gastrointestinal tract were reviewed (men/women 3 : 1, age 63-78 years, mean 72 years). The five lesions were duodenal, jejunal metastasis, and two stomach metastases from lung carcinoma, and rectal metastasis from MFH of the femur. FDG-PET was unable to detect small masses, but it was able to detect unforeseen lesions such as gastrointestinal metastases because FDG-PET is a whole-body scan in a single-operation examination. FDG-PET imaging provided valuable information for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal metastasis.

Melena: A rare complication of duodenal metastases from primary carcinoma of the lung

Small bowel metastases from primary carcinoma of the lung are very uncommon and occur usually in patients with terminal stage disease. These metastases are usually asymptomatic, but may present as perforation, obstruction, malabsorption, or hemorrhage. Hemorrhage as a first presentation of small bowel metastases is extremely rare and is related to very poor patient survival. We describe a case of a 61- year old patient with primary adenocarcinoma of the lung, presenting with melena as the first manifestation of small bowel metastasis. Both primary tumor and metastatic lesions were diagnosed almost simultaneously. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy performed with a colonoscope revealed active bleeding from a metastatic tumor involving the duodenum and the proximal jejunum. Histological examination and immunohistochemical staining of the biopsy specimen strongly supported the diagnosis of metastatic lung adenocarcinoma, suggesting that small bowel metastases from primary carcinoma of the lung occur usually in patients with terminal disease and rarely produce symptoms. Gastrointestinal bleeding from metastatic small intestinal lesions should be included in the differential diagnosis of gastrointestinal blood loss in a patient with a known bronchogenic tumor.

Multiple metastases to the small bowel from large cell bronchial carcinomas

AIM: Metastases from lung cancer to gastrointestinal tract are not rare at postmortem studies but the development of clinically significant symptoms from the gastrointestinal metastases is very unusual.

METHODS: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues were cut into 5 μm thick sections and routinely stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Some slides were also stained with Alcian-PAS. Antibodies used were primary antibodies to pancytokeratin, cytokeratin 7, cytokeratin 20, epithelial membrane antigen, vimentin, smooth muscle actin and CD-117.

RESULTS: We observed three patients who presented with multiple metastases from large cell bronchial carcinoma to small intestine. Two of them had abdominal symptoms (sudden onset of abdominal pain, constipation and vomiting) and in one case the tumor was incidentally found during autopsy. Microscopically, all tumors showed a same histological pattern and consisted almost exclusively of strands and sheets of poorly cohesive, polymorphic giant cells with scanty, delicate stromas. Few smaller polygonal anaplastic cells dispersed between polymorphic giant cells, were also observed. Immunohistochemistry showed positive staining of the tumor cells with cytokeratin and vimentin. Microscopically and immunohistochemically all metastases had a similar pattern to primary anaplastic carcinoma of the small intestine.

CONCLUSION: In patients with small intestine tumors showing anaplastic features, especially with multiple tumors, metastases from large cell bronchial carcinoma should be first excluded, because it seems that they are more common than expected.

Non–small cell lung cancer with a solitary hematogenous metastasis

The standard treatment for patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is chemotherapy. Retrospective series suggest, however, that some patients with stage IV lung cancer with a solitary synchronous site of extrathoracic metastatic (M1) disease are effectively treated by resection of both the primary tumor and the meststasis. Although these patients represent a small minority of those with stage IV lung cancer, it appears reasonable to consider highly selected patients with a solitary resectable metastasis from NSCLC for surgical resection of all evident disease or for chemotherapy without surgery. Because of the results of the current author's trial, however, it is difficult to recommend the regimen of combined medical and surgical therapies used in the current protocol in the management of solitary M1 disease. Future trials could be designed to include newer, less toxic chemotherapeutic regimens.

A phase II trial of chemotherapy and surgery for non-small cell lung cancer patients with a synchronous solitary metastasis

PURPOSE

Retrospective reports suggest that selected patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and a solitary synchronous site of M(1) disease may be effectively treated by resection of all disease sites. The feasibility and potential benefit of combining surgery and chemotherapy in this setting are unclear. Therefore, we performed a prospective trial to test this therapeutic approach.

METHODS

Patients with solitary synchronous M(1) NSCLC with or without N(2) disease were to receive three cycles of mitomycin, vinblastine, cisplatin (MVP) chemotherapy, followed by resection of all disease sites, and then two cycles of VP chemotherapy. Solitary brain metastases were to be resected before chemotherapy.

RESULTS

From 10/92-2/99, 23 patients (12 men, 11 women, median age = 55 years) were enrolled. Mediastinoscopy, performed in 22 patients, showed involved N(2) nodes in 12. The M(1) sites included brain (14 patients) adrenal (3), bone (3), spleen (1), lung (1), and colon (1). Of 12 patients who completed all three induction therapy cycles, 8 underwent R(0) resections. Another 5 patients had R(0) resections without completing induction therapy. Eight of the 13 patients undergoing R(0) resections completed postoperative chemotherapy. The median survival was 11 months; 2 patients survived to 5 years without disease.

CONCLUSIONS

(1) The number of patients with solitary M(1) disease who qualified for this combined modality therapy was small; (2) MVP was poorly tolerated as induction chemotherapy in this patient population; (3) Compared to historical experience with surgery alone, overall survival does not appear to be superior with this treatment strategy.

Tonsillar metastasis from large cell carcinoma of the lung

A 52-year-old female was referred to our department for treatment of a left lung tumor, 80 mm in diameter, arising in the left S1 + 2. The patient's chief complaint was persistent dry cough and spiking fever. Left upper lobectomy with hilar and mediastinal lymph node dissection (ND2a) was performed, and the pathological diagnosis was primary large cell carcinoma of the lung, p-T3N0M0. At one week after being discharged, the patient visited our outpatient clinic complaining of a sore throat. A tumor in the right tonsil was discovered, and excisional biopsy revealed it to be metastasis from the large cell carcinoma of the lung. Right cervical lymph node metastasis was also detected, and the patient was treated by combined chemo-radiotherapy, resulting in a complete remission.