Upper Gastrointestinal Bleed as a Manifestation of Poorly Differentiated Metastatic Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lung
Published: June 1, 2017 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2017/27040.10090
Richa Bhardwaj, Gaurav Bhardwaj, Arun Gautam, Raffi Karagozian
1. Resident, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Connecticut, Farmington, Connecticut, USA.
2. Research Student, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Connecticut, Farmington, Connecticut, USA.
3. Resident, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Connecticut, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.
4. Attending Physician, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Connecticut, Farmington, Connecticut, USA.
Correspondence
Dr. Richa Bhardwaj,
24 Park Place apt B6E, Hartford, Connecticut, USA.
E-mail: dr.richabhardwaj@gmail.com
Gastrointestinal (GI) metastasis from primary lung cancer is a rare clinical finding. Lung cancer most often metastasizes to the brain, bone, liver, and adrenal glands; with gastrointestinal involvement being very rare. We report a case of a 39-year-old female with a diagnosis of poorly differentiated Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) of the lung presenting with dizziness and melena . Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) showed a bleeding mass in the stomach. Final biopsy report and Immunohistochemistry (IHC) of the specimen were consistent with SCC lung metastasis. While it is imperative to have a high clinical suspicion for GI metastasis in patients with primary lung cancer presenting with GI symptoms, it may be challenging to establish diagnosis. Endoscopy along with pathology and immunohistochemistry play a crucial role in differentiating primary GI malignancies from metastasis.
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