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. 2013 May;1(3):503-506.
doi: 10.3892/mco.2013.79. Epub 2013 Feb 27.

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus initially presenting as a large retroperitoneal mass: A case diagnosed as cancer of unknown primary site

Lanfang Yu  1 , Xiaoxiao Ge  1 , Sui Huang  1 , Yanli Wang  2 , Peng Shen  1
Affiliations

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus initially presenting as a large retroperitoneal mass: A case diagnosed as cancer of unknown primary site

Lanfang Yu et al. Mol Clin Oncol. 2013 May.

Abstract

Retroperitoneal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of unknown origin is uncommon. It is extremely rare when the primary site detected in the esophagus after 18 months. A 59-year-old female patient with waist pain was initially diagnosed as retroperitoneal metastatic SCC of occult origin. Six cycles of chemotherapy with cisplatin, paclitaxel and 5-fluorouracil were administered and clinical complete response was observed. The primary site was detected in the esophagus after 18 months and the overall survival (OS) was 28 months. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) initially presenting as a metastatic site with long progression-free survival (PFS) and OS. In conclusion, the different biological characteristics and complete response to first-line chemotherapy likely contribute to relatively long PFS and OS.

Keywords: cancer of unknown primary; chemotherapy; esophageal cancer; squamous cell carcinoma.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan prior to chemotherapy showed a mass occupying the entire retroperitoneal cavity.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Hematoxylin and eosin staining (magnification, ×400) revealed keratic pearl forming.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Immunohistochemical staining (magnification, ×200) showed positive for CK14.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Immunohistochemical staining (magnification, ×200) showed positive for p63.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan after two cycles of chemotherapy showed clinical partial regression.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan after six cycles of chemotherapy showed clinical complete regression.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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