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Case Reports
. 2014 Apr;31(2):117-8.
doi: 10.4103/0970-9371.138693.

Metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the lung masquerading as a soft tissue tumor

Rupinder Kaur  1 , Kanwardeep Singh Kwatra  1 , Kanwal Masih  1 , Nalini Calton  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the lung masquerading as a soft tissue tumor

Rupinder Kaur et al. J Cytol. 2014 Apr.

Abstract

Carcinoma of lung can metastasize to any organ system; however, metastasis to skeletal muscles is extremely rare. A 63-year-old man, known case of pulmonary tuberculosis on treatment, presented with a painful swelling in his left leg. Examination revealed a 5.0 cm × 3.0 cm calf swelling, which on imaging was suggestive of a soft tissue tumor. Fine-needle aspiration cytology of the swelling revealed it to be squamous cell carcinoma. Further investigations revealed a mass in the left lower lobe of the lung. Biopsies from both the lung lesion and calf swelling confirmed the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of lung with metastasis to the calf muscle. The case is being presented because of its unusual presentation and rarity.

Keywords: Fine-needle aspiration cytology; lung cancer; skeletal muscle metastasis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Fine-needle aspiration cytology of the calf swelling showing malignant squamous cells (H and E, ×400); (b and c) Core biopsies from the lung lesion and calf swelling respectively, showing squamous cell carcinoma (H and E, ×400)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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