Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Feb 24:16:149.
doi: 10.1186/s12885-016-2169-5.

Distribution and prognosis of uncommon metastases from non-small cell lung cancer

Fei-Yu Niu  1   2 , Qing Zhou  2 , Jin-Ji Yang  2 , Wen-Zhao Zhong  2 , Zhi-Hong Chen  2 , Wei Deng  1   2 , Yan-Yan He  2 , Hua-Jun Chen  2 , Zhu Zeng  2 , E-E Ke  1   2 , Ning Zhao  2 , Na Zhang  1   2 , Hui-Wen Sun  2 , Qiu-Yi Zhang  1   2 , Zhi Xie  2 , Xu-Chao Zhang  2 , Yi-Long Wu  3
Affiliations

Distribution and prognosis of uncommon metastases from non-small cell lung cancer

Fei-Yu Niu et al. BMC Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: According to the literature and our experience, the most common sites of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) metastases include the brain, bone, liver, adrenal glands, contralateral lung and distant lymph nodes. Metastases to other organs are relatively rare. There have been numerous case reports and a few small case series of uncommon metastases derived from NSCLC.

Methods: We defined all organs except the common metastatic sites mentioned above as uncommon sites of metastasis. Patients with uncommon metastases among 2,872 consecutive NSCLC patients with stage IV disease at the Guangdong Lung Cancer Institute (GLCI) from 2006 to 2012 were included in this study. The diagnosis of uncommon metastases was based on pathology or imaging studies.

Results: Uncommon metastases were diagnosed in 193 cases at anatomical sites such as the soft tissue, kidney, pancreas, spleen, peritoneum, intestine, bone marrow, eye, ovary, thyroid, heart, breast, tonsil and nasal cavity. Uncommon metastases were identified as independent poor prognostic factors through a multivariate analysis with a HR (hazard ratio) of 1.29 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09-1.52, P < 0.01]. Those patients who received systemic therapy plus local treatment had a better survival rate than did those who received systemic therapy only (P < 0.01); all patients received best supportive care.

Conclusions: Metastases to the above mentioned sites are infrequent. The presentation of uncommon metastases tends to indicate a poor outcome, and selected patients may benefit from local treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The frequency of uncommon metastases
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Survival from the time of lung cancer diagnosis in cases with common and uncommon metastases
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Survival from the time of the uncommon metastasis diagnosis. *: uncommon metastases except kidney/soft tissue/pancreas/spleen/peritoneum
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Survival from the time of the uncommon metastasis diagnosis in patients who received different treatments. Abbreviations: S, systemic treatment; L, local treatment; B, best supportive care
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bains MS. Surgical treatment of lung cancer. Chest. 1991;100(3):826–37. doi: 10.1378/chest.100.3.826. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Perisano C, Spinelli MS, Graci C, Scaramuzzo L, Marzetti E, Barone C, Fabbriciani C. Soft tissue metastases in lung cancer: a review of the literature. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2012;16(14):1908–14. - PubMed
    1. Quint LE, Tummala S, Brisson LJ, Francis IR, Krupnick AS, Kazerooni EA, Iannettoni MD, Whyte RI, Orringer MB. Distribution of distant metastases from newly diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer. Ann Thorac Surg. 1996;62(1):246–50. - PubMed
    1. Lin HC, Yu CP, Lin HA, Lee HS. A case of lung cancer metastasized to the gastrointestinal anastomosis site where the primary gastric cancer was resected 17 years ago. Lung Cancer. 2011;72(2):255–7. doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2011.02.005. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chung AY, Tran TB, Brumund KT, Weisman RA, Bouvet M. Metastases to the thyroid: a review of the literature from the last decade. Thyroid. 2012;22(3):258–68. doi: 10.1089/thy.2010.0154. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types