UNUSUAL METASTASIS OF ESOPHAGEAL CANCER

Abstract Introduction: Carcinoma of the esophagus is on the eight place by the frequency of malignant diseases and the sixth cause of death from cancer worldwide. It usually metastasizes to regional lymph nodes, liver, lungs, CNS, and bones but metastases can appear to unusual locations such as facial skin and lips. Case report: We present a case of a 56-year old man who reported to his physician because of upper lip swelling. A physical checkup of the patients showed a lesion on the skin of left temporal region and both lesions were biopsied . Based on the results of histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses of the samples a diagnosis of metastatic adenocarcinoma to the skin was established. Additional diagnostic procedures, including esophagogastroduodenoscopy, detected the infiltration into the distal part of esophagus, which was histopathologically confirmed as adenocarcinoma of esophagus. The results of PET-CT examination showed the invasion of the disease. Because of disease expansion multidisciplinary oncology team suggested chemo- and radiotherapy treatment. The patient has received four cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy so far. Conclusion: The physicians should always consider unusual skin lesions as the first sign of cancer spreading. Key words: esophagus, carcinoma, metastasis to lip