Metastasis of carcinoma of the lung to a carotid body paraganglioma

BMJ Case Rep. 2012 Apr 4:2012:bcr0120125517. doi: 10.1136/bcr.01.2012.5517.

Abstract

Tumour-to-tumour metastasis is a rare phenomenon, but has been described in the literature in just over 100 cases. It can be particularly puzzling for the reporting pathologists, when encountered unexpectedly in a tumour showing abrupt transition from the usual morphology to another unusual pattern. The literature reports a variety of combinations with carcinoma-to-carcinoma being the most common; and renal cell carcinomas appear to the most common recipient tumours with common donor tumours being breast, lung and renal cell carcinomas. The authors report a case of poorly-differentiated lung carcinoma metastasising into a carotid body paraganglioma. Our case is unique and in our knowledge the first described case of carotid body paraganglioma with metastasis from a lung primary. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of this interesting biological phenomenon in this combination.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Biopsy
  • Bronchoscopy
  • Calcium / blood
  • Carotid Body Tumor / secondary*
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Diagnostic Imaging
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Humans
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Laryngoscopy
  • Lung Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Vocal Cord Paralysis / diagnosis

Substances

  • Calcium