Duodenal Metastasis in a Patient with Lung Adenocarcinoma: Report of a Case

Abstract

Lung carcinoma with secondary metastasis to the small bowel is rare. A case of duodenal metastasis stemming from lung adenocarcinoma in a 66-year-old man is reported. Three years after diagnosis of primary lung cancer an endoscopy was performed for persistent epigastric pain; it revealed a metastatic tumor in the duodenum. In addition to duodenal metastasis, neck lymph node metastasis was also noted. The patient received only analgesics and supportive care and died of urosepsis 4 weeks later. We also review 29 other cases of lung cancer with small bowel metastasis in the English literatures. In these patients, small bowel metastases were almost associated with other metastasis. The prognoses of these patients are extremely poor with a mean survival time of only 7.6 weeks. Therefore, small bowel metastasis may reflect a terminal event of lung cancer. To recognize these abnormalities is important for appropriate palliative therapy.