Upper lip metastasis of sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung - an unusual site of disease: a case report

J Med Case Rep. 2017 Jan 19;11(1):18. doi: 10.1186/s13256-016-1178-y.

Abstract

Background: Lip metastases are rare clinical events that are frequently mistaken for other diagnoses. For sarcomatoid lung carcinoma, a rare histologic variant of non-small cell lung cancer, the incidence and pattern of cutaneous spread is poorly understood.

Case presentation: We present a case of a 79-year-old African American man with a rapidly progressive upper lip cutaneous lesion that provided the first evidence of distant metastatic spread of sarcomatoid lung carcinoma.

Conclusions: This is the first reported case of lip metastasis in sarcomatoid lung carcinoma. It highlights the importance of maintaining a high level of suspicion for metastatic disease in the presence of new cutaneous findings as they may be the first evidence of advanced disease.

Keywords: Cutaneous; Lip; Lung cancer; Metastasis; Sarcomatoid.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Humans
  • Image-Guided Biopsy
  • Lip Neoplasms / radiotherapy
  • Lip Neoplasms / secondary*
  • Lung Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Lung Neoplasms / radiotherapy
  • Male
  • Sarcoma / radiotherapy
  • Sarcoma / secondary*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed