A Rare Case of Multiple Secondary Endotracheal Metastasis From Early Stage Small Cell Cancer

Creator(s)

S. Karakattu, Quillen-Dishner College of MedicineFollow
J. Yorke, Quillen-Dishner College of MedicineFollow
T. Hoskere, Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine
L. Stewart, Highlands Pathology Consultants
W. ElMinaoui, Quillen-Dishner College of Medicine

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2020

Description

Introduction: Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) is an aggressive malignancy with poor prognosis that accounts for 10% of all clinical lung cancer. SCLC commonly metastasizes to the mediastinum, liver, bone, adrenals, and the brain but secondary endotracheal metastasis is an especially rare occurrence. We discuss the case of a 74-year-old male with principal complaint of cough, wheezing and hemoptysis found to have secondary endotracheal lesions on bronchoscopy. Case report: A 74-year-old male, former smoker with a past medical history of pulmonary embolism, bullous emphysema, and limited stage small cell lung cancer with wedge resection and chemotherapy 3 years ago presented with cough, wheezing, weight loss and intermittent hemoptysis ongoing for few weeks. CT scan of the chest showed multiple polypoid masses arising in the anterior wall of the trachea. He underwent bronchoscopy with biopsy. Pathology was consistent with small-cell lung cancer. Conclusion: Secondary tracheal metastasis from early stage small cell cancer is a rare occurrence. The likelihood of tracheal metastasis of lung cancer is amplified when an endotracheal nodule or eccentric thickening of the tracheal wall is seen on CT of patients with high suspicion. It is important for clinicians to suspect endotracheal lesions when a patient presents with recurrent respiratory complaints despite stable surveillance CT scan of chest in patients with history of lung cancer.

Copyright Statement

© 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Citation Information

Karakattu, S.; Yorke, J.; Hoskere, T.; Stewart, L.; and ElMinaoui, W.. 2020. A Rare Case of Multiple Secondary Endotracheal Metastasis From Early Stage Small Cell Cancer. Respiratory Medicine Case Reports. Vol.30 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmcr.2020.101103