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Vol.52 No.2 contents | Japanese/English |
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- Case Report -
Two Cases of Small Cell Lung Cancer with Metastasis to the Stomach at Initial Diagnosis
Akihito Okazaki1,2, Tomoyuki Araya1, Asao Sakai2, Takashi Sone2, Kazuo Kasahara2, Masaki Fujimura21Department of Respiratory Medicine, Komatsu Municipal Hospital, Japan, 2Department of Respiratory Medicine, Cellular Transplantation Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kanazawa University, Japan
Background. Evidence of gastric metastasis from lung cancer is rarely observed at initial diagnosis. Case 1. A 74-year-old woman with anorexia was referred to our hospital due to upper lobe atelectasis of the left lung noted on a chest X-ray film. Bronchoscopic examination revealed obstruction of the left upper bronchus by a tumor. A biopsy specimen from the mass demonstrated small cell cancer. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed an elevated lesion forming a central depression ("bull's eye") in the antrum. Immunohistochemical examination confirmed metastasis from small cell lung cancer. Despite chemotherapy with carboplatin and etoposide, the patient did not respond to treatment and died of lung cancer 3 months after admission. Case 2. A 76-year-old man with a chief complaint of epigastralgia was given a diagnosis of small cell lung cancer of the right lower lobe. Endoscopic examination revealed an elevated lesion forming a "bull's eye" in the gastric corpus. A biopsy specimen from the tumor demonstrated metastasis from small cell lung cancer, and he died of lung cancer 1 month after diagnosis. Conclusion. Opportunities to identify gastric metastasis from lung cancer are likely to increase with the increasing incidence of lung cancer. On diagnosis of gastric metastasis, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy is useful for proper staging and treatment. The possibility of gastric metastasis should be considered when patients complain of anorexia or epigastralgia at initial diagnosis.
key words: Small cell lung cancer, Gastric metastasis, Endoscopic examination
Received: December 1, 2011
Accepted: February 10, 2012
JJLC 52 (2): 220-225, 2012
