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. 2013 Jul;26(3):290-2.
doi: 10.1080/08998280.2013.11928987.

Pulmonary tumor embolism syndrome from occult colonic adenocarcinoma

Robert Evans Heithaus Jr  1 , Michael A Hitchcock, Joseph M Guileyardo
Affiliations

Pulmonary tumor embolism syndrome from occult colonic adenocarcinoma

Robert Evans Heithaus Jr et al. Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2013 Jul.

Abstract

Pulmonary tumor embolism syndrome is a rare phenomenon that can occur in patients who have an occult neoplasm that metastasizes. We describe a case of an elderly woman with an undiagnosed colon cancer who suffered from respiratory distress and compromised pulmonary blood flow from micrometastasis in the pulmonary arteries.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Gross examination of the cecum revealed a several-centimeter tumor extending intraluminally. A cut through the center of the tumor (arrow) demonstrates the transmural thickness (double arrow).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Microscopic examination of the tumor revealed anaplastic cells with glands consistent with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (hematoxylin and eosin stain, 100×).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Sections of the pulmonary arteries revealed intravascular collections of fibrin and markedly anaplastic tumor cells consistent with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (hematoxylin and eosin stain, 100×).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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