Postmortem diagnosis of pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy with rapid exacerbation in a patient with gastric cancer: a case report

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy (PTTM) is a condition that involves the development of pulmonary hypertension due to the presence of microscopic tumor emboli of the peripheral pulmonary arteries. Here, we report a case of rapidly exacerbating PTTM associated with gastric cancer that was identified postmortem through pathological autopsy. CASE PRESENTATION: A 52-year-old Asian woman who experienced anterior chest pain while coughing visited the orthopedic department of the Gifu University Hospital. She was diagnosed as having multiple osteolytic bone metastases throughout her body and was subsequently scheduled to undergo combined positron emission tomography and computed tomography (CT) to search for a primary lesion. However, 4 days after her visit to the orthopedic department, she was unable to stand up and thus visited the emergency department. At the time of admission, physical examination results revealed that she had a percutaneous oxygen saturation level of 90% (on room air) and cyanosis and that she was in a state of hemodynamic shock. Laboratory test results revealed elevated levels of fibrin degradation products and D-dimer in her blood. Chest CT results were normal. She was admitted to the hospital’s general ward for follow-up but soon entered a gradually worsening state of shock and respiratory failure. Electrocardiography revealed findings associated with right heart strain; however, contrast-enhanced CT did not reveal the presence of pulmonary embolism. She was admitted to the intensive care unit and was treated for pulmonary hypertension; however, 45 h after her arrival at the hospital, she died of respiratory failure. A pathological autopsy revealed the presence of gastric cancer, tumor microemboli, and fibrous intimal thickening of the peripheral arteries of both lungs; thus, a diagnosis of PTTM was made. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with carcinoma of unknown primary site and pulmonary hypertension with pulmonary embolism ruled out by CT, emergency physicians and intensivists must consider the possibility of PTTM, which represents an oncologic emergency, and initiate chemotherapy administration as soon as possible.