Parotid gland metastasis of lung cancer: a case report

BACKGROUND: Parotid gland metastasis in lung cancer is extremely rare, very few cases have been reported. CASE PRESENTATION: We report on the case of a 61-year-old Chinese male patient who presented with parotid swelling metastasizing from advanced lung cancer. We therefore performed an operation of partial parotidectomy with preservation of the facial nerve and advised the patient receive chemotherapy, however, the patient died four months later. CONCLUSION: Although it is extremely rare, a potential metastasis of lung cancer should not be ignored in the diagnosis of parotid tumor. Preoperative routine examination, such as a chest X-ray and lung computational tomography scan, may play an important role in differential diagnosis. The management of the metastatic tumor to the parotid gland was controversial however, despite combined treatment modalities, long-term survival was not attained.