Management of metastatic disease to soft tissue

Surgical resection of soft tissue metastasis in cancers: A single-center study of 77 cases over a 7-year period

INTRODUCTION

Soft tissue metastasis (STM) of cancers, encompassing skeletal muscle and subcutaneous tissue metastasis, is less common due to unique homeostatic conditions. With longer life expectancy and the advent of new imaging modalities, clinical physicians will increasingly encounter and manage such cases. This study retrospectively reviewed cases of STM in visceral cancers who underwent surgery at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center over a 7-year period.

METHODS

Data were collected through a comprehensive review of medical records, including demographic variables, primary tumor characteristics, surgical data, tumor pathology, and outcomes. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier curves.

RESULTS

The study included 77 cases with a median follow-up period of 854 days. The most common primary tumor sites were the lung (11) and breast (10). The abdominal wall was the most frequent site of metastasis. The combination of visceral metastasis, age over 52 years, and a history of primary tumor correlates with a poorer prognosis. Surgical-related metastases are associated with a higher degree of differentiation. Additionally, we have identified a better prognosis for patients with cancer of unknown primary (CUP) exhibiting potential resectable soft tissue metastases.

CONCLUSION

The combination of visceral metastasis, age over 52 years, and a history of primary tumor suggest a poorer prognosis. While no significant impact on survival was observed for patients with lymph node metastasis. Surgical-related metastases are associated with a higher degree of differentiation. CUP patients with potentially resectable soft tissue metastases should be considered for surgical intervention.

PET/CT Findings of a Patient with Striped Muscle Metastasis of Invasive Breast Carcinoma

A 37-year-old female with a history of invasive breast carcinoma was referred to our department for an ¹⁸flor-fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography whole-body scan. An intense ¹⁸F-FDG uptake in striped muscles anterior to the left thigh region was noted. Excisional biopsy outcome from the left vastus medialis muscle was found to be consistent with striped muscle metastasis from breast carcinoma.

Skeletal Muscle Metastases from Carcinomas: A Review of the Literature

* Bones are a common site for metastases; however, muscle metastases recently have been more commonly reported, not only as a result of the multidisciplinary approach in the treatment of these patients but also because of more sensitive imaging modalities such as positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) that identify these lesions in early stages.* The most common carcinoma is lung carcinoma, with a hematogenous route of spread mainly to the axial region of the body (the psoas muscle, the gluteal muscles, and the paravertebral muscles). * Clinically, skeletal muscle metastases from carcinomas frequently present as painful palpable masses with or without swelling and are commonly found before diagnosis of the primary carcinoma.* Multiple imaging modalities, including radiographs, CT, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and PET-CT, have been used for diagnosis and staging, but tissue sampling is needed for a final diagnosis. The most important differential diagnosis of skeletal muscle metastases is with soft-tissue sarcomas.* Treatment is mainly based on chemotherapy and/or radiation; surgery is performed in cases of symptomatic lesions that fail to respond to nonoperative treatment.

[Muscle metastasis of an epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix: report of a case and review of the literature]

Les métastases musculaires sont rares, leur nombre est probablement sous estimé. Nous rapportons le cas d'une patiente âgée de 65 ans, ayant présenté une métastase musculaire d'un carcinome épidermoïde du col utérin 6 mois après le diagnostic de la tumeur primitive. Le diagnostic a été obtenu à partir de la biopsie et du scanner abdomino-pelvien. Le traitement a consisté en une irradiation palliative à la dose de 30Gy. L’évolution a été marquée par le décès de la patiente. A travers ce cas clinique on a démontré que le muscle peut être touché par les métastases d'un carcinome épidermoïde du col utérin et que leur pronostic reste en général péjoratif.

Adductor longus muscle metastasis of transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder

Bladder cancer most commonly spreads to the lymph nodes, lungs, bones and adrenal glands. Metastasis of bladder cancer to the skeletal muscle is extremely rare, as is the case in other malignancies. We report a case of a 62-year-old male patient who presented with pain and swelling in the right lower extremity and had difficulty walking, and who was later found to have metastasis in the adductor longus muscle 3 months after the initial diagnosis of transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder. The study also provides a review of the current literature.

Intraneural metastasis of gastric carcinoma leads to sciatic nerve palsy

BACKGROUND

Soft tissue metastases, in particular intraneural metastasis, from any carcinomas seldom occur. To our knowledge, no case of sciatic nerve palsy due to intraneural metastasis of gastric carcinoma is reported in the literature.

CASE PRESENTATION

A case is reported of a 82-year old woman with sciatic nerve palsy with intraneural metastasis of gastric carcinoma. Although she had undergone partial gastrectomy with T2b, N0, M0 two years ago and primary site was cured, she developed sciatic nerve palsy from the carcinoma metastasis directly to the nerve. Operative resection and Histological examination revealed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, the same as her primary site adenocarcinoma.

CONCLUSIONS

Sciatica is usually caused by a herniated disc or spinal canal stenosis. Sciatic nerve palsy may be caused by nondiscogenic etiologies that may be either intrapelvic or extrapelvic. It is important to image the entire course of the nerve to distinguish these etiologies quickly. The longer the nerve compression the less likely a palsy will recover. Surgery is a good intervention that simultaneously obtains a tissue diagnosis and decompresses the nerve.