Esophageal metastases from primary lung cancer: a case report

BACKGROUND: Primary lung cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers. The common metastatic sites are the liver, bones, brain, adrenal glands and central nervous system. However, gastrointestinal metastases, particularly esophageal metastases, from lung cancer are rare. There are no cases of esophageal metastases from lung cancer which refer to its particular treatment. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of esophageal metastases from lung cancer. The patient was a 55-year-old Han Chinese man who first attended our hospital due to dry cough and was diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer. Three months later, the patient complained of dysphagia. Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and pathological examination of the biopsy specimen was performed to confirm the lesion was metastases from lung cancer. Thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1), cytokeratin 7 (CK-7) and napsin A were positive by immunohistochemistry examination. These results reconfirmed the diagnosis of esophageal metastases from lung cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Esophageal metastasis from lung cancer is very rare. It may be alleviated with personalized chemotherapy. In addition, molecular targeted therapy for patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations may be reasonable.