An extremely atypical presentation of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma with pancreatic and hepatic metastases: A case report and overview of the literature

RATIONALE: Esophageal carcinoma is an aggressive cancer with extremely poor therapeutic outcomes due to its high metastatic potential and a significant risk of recurrence after radical resection. Liver is the most common metastatic target organ of esophageal carcinoma, followed by the lungs, bones, and brain. Few cases of solitary pancreatic and hepatic metastases of esophageal carcinoma have been reported. PATIENT CONCERNS: We report the case of a 67-year-old male presenting with pancreatic and hepatic lesions. In addition, a friable lesion with an irregular nodular surface in the distal esophagus was detected by esophagogastroduodenoscopy. DIAGNOSIS: Pathohistological examination confirmed esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The pancreatic lesion was also biopsied via ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration, which also revealed squamous cell carcinoma. The hepatic lesion was also identified as metastatic carcinoma by magnetic resonance imaging, most likely of the same origin. INTERVENTIONS: Due to comorbidities that precluded surgery, the patient was administered adjuvant therapy and a multidisciplinary decision was made for palliative care. OUTCOMES: The patient died 1 month later due to multiorgan failure caused by hemorrhage from a peptic ulcer. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is only the sixth case of pancreatic metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. This case report suggests to clinicians the importance of considering potential comorbidities in every patient with advanced cancer, such as gastric ulcer and cachexia.