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

Gastric and colonic metastasis from NSCLC: A very unusual case report

RATIONALE

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Approximately 50% of patients is metastatic at diagnosis and the most common metastatic sites are bone, lungs, brain, adrenal glands, liver, and extra thoracic lymph nodes. The occurrence of gastrointestinal metastasis from lung carcinoma is rare and seems more commonly related to small cell lung cancer compared to non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

PATIENT INFORMATION AND DIAGNOSIS

A 78-year-old man with completely surgically resected NSCLC and no initial evidence of distant metastases developed colon and gastric metastases 7 months after diagnosis, confirmed by serial radiological examinations and endoscopic biopsies.

INTERVENTIONS

The patient was subjected to total gastrectomy with D2 lymph node dissection plus partial colectomy for intraoperative detection of a transverse colon neoformation. Subsequent instrumental imaging showed bilateral lung tumor recurrence, treated with gemcitabine monotherapy for 8 months as first line chemotherapy for lung adenocarcinoma.

RESULTS

The patient presented complete response to therapy and was disease-free for 4 years.

LESSONS

Colonic and gastric metastasis are very infrequent in NSCLC. The resection of gastrointestinal metastasis may provide benefits in terms of both symptom control and survival in patients properly selected.

A Case of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Metastasized to the Colonic Anastomotic Site of Right Hemicolectomy

A 73-year-old woman with a history of right hemicolectomy for advanced ascending colon cancer 14 years earlier was referred to our facility for a 2-month history of solid food dysphagia. An esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed a 7-cm fungating and ulcerated mass in the middle to lower esophagus. The biopsy from the esophageal mass showed a moderately to poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. A colonoscopy showed an end-to-end ileocolonic anastomosis with a 7-mm ulceration in the transverse colon. The biopsy of the ulceration at the anastomotic site showed a moderately to poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma with a morphology similar to that of the esophageal mass, rendering the diagnosis of metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Colonic metastasis from esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, especially at the anastomotic site, is extremely rare. Although surgical trauma may not have contributed to the anastomotic site metastasis, given the distant timeline, its role in the pathogenesis of metastasis cannot be completely ruled out.

Non-small cell lung cancer with gastric metastasis and repeated gastrointestinal bleeding: A rare case report and literature review

The occurrence of gastrointestinal metastasis from lung carcinoma is rare. Compared with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), small cell lung cancer more commonly results in this sort of metastasis. Here, we report an unusual case of NSCLC initially without evidence of distant metastasis that developed into gastric metastasis five months after the initial diagnosis, despite the primary lung cancer having a partial response to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Serial radiological examinations and endoscopic biopsies of the gastric tumor confirmed that it was a metastatic carcinoma originating from the lung. The patient received a total gastrectomy for gastric metastasis due to repeated gastrointestinal bleeding.

Perforation of small intestine secondary to metastatic lung adenocarcinoma: A case report

RATIONALE

About 50% of patients with a diagnosis of nonsmall cell lung carcinoma exhibit metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis. The preferential sites of extrapulmonary spread are the lymph nodes, liver, brain, adrenal glands, and bones; gastrointestinal tract perforation secondary to metastatic lung cancer is extremely rare.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 60-year-old male nonsmoker patient presented with a 20-day history of facial, neck, and right upper limb edema. Physical examination revealed a 3.5 cm mass in his right chest. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a 4 cm mass near the right lung hilum.

DIAGNOSIS

Biopsy of the right chest wall mass revealed low differentiated lung adenocarcinoma. Additionally, retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy, pericardial effusion, metastases in the mediastinum, bilateral adrenal gland, and right thoracic wall nodule, as well as multiple bone metastases were also found.

INTERVENTIONS

Since the patient was diagnosed with multiple metastatic lung cancer, chemotherapy was started. One week after chemotherapy, he experienced a sudden acute abdominal pain. Abdominal CT examination indicated the possibility of intestinal perforation. Hence, the patient underwent an emergency operation. During the surgical procedure, 2 perforations of size 1×1 cm were discovered at 110 cm and 140 cm of the jejunum from Treitz's ligament. Then, an intestinal resection and end-to-end anastomosis were performed. The pathological diagnosis of the resected specimen revealed that it was a metastatic lung adenocarcinoma of small intestine.

OUTCOMES

The patient died 10 days after operation and 19 days following the cancer diagnosis due to septic shock.

LESSONS

Gastrointestinal tract metastasis from the lung is uncommon, but the survival rate is extremely low; therefore, it should be considered as a possibility in patients who present with any of the gastrointestinal symptoms.

Gastrointestinal metastasis of primary lung cancer: An analysis of 366 cases

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is not a common site of metastasis in primary lung cancer. The aim of the present study was to reveal the clinical and prognostic characteristics of gastrointestinal metastases of lung cancer (GMLC). Information on 366 cases of GMLC was collected and factors that affect severe GI complications were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate survival analyses were performed using the Cox proportional hazards model. Of the cases analyzed, the small intestine (59.6%) and colorectum (25.6%) were the two organs where lung cancer was most likely to metastasize in the GI tract. Squamous cell carcinoma (28.5%), adenocarcinoma (27.6%) and large cell carcinoma (20.9%) were the three most common histological types. However, compared with the histological distributions of primary lung cancer, patients with large cell carcinoma exhibited the highest elevated risk of GMLC [relative risk (RR), 4.07; P<0.001] and those with adenocarcinoma exhibited the lowest risk (RR, 0.58; P<0.001). Differences in organ involvement and in histological type led to varying GI complications. It was also indicated that chemotherapy was associated with a decreased risk of hemorrhage (P=0.006), but there was no reduction in the risk of hemorrhage associated with perforation and obstruction (P>0.05). The median overall survival time of GMLC patients was 2.8 months (range, 0–108 months). The survival analyses revealed that perforation and extra-GI metastasis were negative prognostic factors but abdominal surgery was identified a positive prognostic factor. In conclusion, the histological distribution of GMLC differed from that of primary lung cancer. Sufficient and careful patient evaluation, targeted surgeries and systemic therapies for specific patients are able to increase patient survival rate and improve the quality of life.

Gastrointestinal metastasis from primary lung cancer. Case series and systematic literature review

Aim of the present study is to report clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients treated in authors' hospital for GI metastasis from primary lung cancer, and to report and analyse the same data concerning patients retrieved from a systematic literature review. We performed a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data, and a systematic review using the Meta-analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) guidelines. Ninety-one patients were included, 5 patients from the authors' hospital and 86 through PubMed database using the keywords "intestinal metastasis" AND "lung cancer". The median time between primary lung cancer diagnosis and GI metastasis diagnosis was 2 months and the median overall survival was 4 months. This group of patients present a poor prognosis and the gold standard treatment is not defined. None of the reported treatments had a significant impact on survival.

Lung cancer metastasis to the gastrointestinal system: An enigmatic occurrence

Adenocarcinoma of the lung infrequently metastasizes to the gastrointestinal tract. We report a rare case of a 65-year-old male with no respiratory symptoms diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the lung by histopathological examination of metastatic sites which included an ulcer in the gastric body and a mass in the rectum. Metastatic disease also involved the liver as well. Patient was treated with systemic chemotherapy but unfortunately expired five months after the diagnosis was made.

Solitary fibular metastasis from nonsmall cell lung carcinoma

Solitary bone metastasis to fibula in patients of lung carcinoma is a rare entity, with only four cases reported in literature. We, hereby, present a case of a 50 year-old-male who was given three cycles of chemotherapy for lung carcinoma with no distant metastasis but presented 2 months later with a fusiform, painful swelling around the knee that was clinically suspected to be inflammatory in nature but proved to be fibular metastasis on cytology. There was no evidence of skeletal metastasis on initial bone scan. He was given palliative radiotherapy for this with symptomatic relief.

Distribution and prognosis of uncommon metastases from non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND

According to the literature and our experience, the most common sites of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) metastases include the brain, bone, liver, adrenal glands, contralateral lung and distant lymph nodes. Metastases to other organs are relatively rare. There have been numerous case reports and a few small case series of uncommon metastases derived from NSCLC.

METHODS

We defined all organs except the common metastatic sites mentioned above as uncommon sites of metastasis. Patients with uncommon metastases among 2,872 consecutive NSCLC patients with stage IV disease at the Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute (GLCI) from 2006 to 2012 were included in this study. The diagnosis of uncommon metastases was based on pathology or imaging studies.

RESULTS

Uncommon metastases were diagnosed in 193 cases at anatomical sites such as the soft tissue, kidney, pancreas, spleen, peritoneum, intestine, bone marrow, eye, ovary, thyroid, heart, breast, tonsil and nasal cavity. Uncommon metastases were identified as independent poor prognostic factors through a multivariate analysis with a HR (hazard ratio) of 1.29 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09-1.52, P < 0.01]. Those patients who received systemic therapy plus local treatment had a better survival rate than did those who received systemic therapy only (P < 0.01); all patients received best supportive care.

CONCLUSIONS

Metastases to the above mentioned sites are infrequent. The presentation of uncommon metastases tends to indicate a poor outcome, and selected patients may benefit from local treatment.

Malignant glomus tumor of the lung with multiorgan metastases: case report and literature review

Glomus tumor is an exceedingly rare neoplasm that is derived from cells of the neuromyoarterial glomus or glomus body. It rarely occurs in the visceral organs where glomus body may be sparse or even absent, such as the stomach, intestines, mediastinum, and respiratory tract. It is unusual for a glomus tumor to demonstrate atypical or malignant histopathological characteristics. It is also rare for such a tumor to express clinically aggressive behavior. However, when metastasis does occur, this disease is often fatal. We herein report an interesting case of a middle-age woman admitted due to progressive cough and hemoptysis. A polypoid mass was found to occlude the left lingular lobar bronchus. Final histopathologic examination showed the presence of malignant glomus tumor, confirmed by immunoreactivity for smooth muscle actin and vimentin. Two months later, the patient developed abdominal distension and gastrointestinal bleeding. Further evaluation lead to the discovery of widespread metastatic disease to the gastrointestinal tract, spleen, and the left adrenal gland. We further entail a review of the literature on the clinicopathologic features and diagnosis of this uncommon tumor.

A case of ALK-associated non-small-cell lung cancer with evidence of omental metastasis 6 years after initial presentation

SUMMARY We report a case of a never-smoker male originally diagnosed with stage IIIb non-small-cell lung cancer that then presented with metastatic disease (EGFR/KRAS wild-type and ALK-positive) confined to the omentum 6 years later. Early metastasis to a variety of internal organs is common in the course of disease. Gastrointestinal metastasis of non-small-cell lung cancer is relatively rare and is typically found in the gastric or small bowel regions. Metastasis to the omentum is commonly seen with certain gynecologic cancer, but has not yet been well documented in pulmonary malignancies. Increasing use of molecular markers has altered the diagnosis, management and possible long-term prognosis of various subcategories of lung cancer. ALK-associated mutations have been found in a small minority of patients and its presence requires the use of novel therapeutics and, possibly, more prolonged surveillance for late metastasis.