Nasopharyngeal Metastasis from Colon Cancer

Korean J Med > Volume 80(2); 2011 > Article

Original Article

The Korean Journal of Medicine 2011;80(2):96-100.

Nasopharyngeal Metastasis from Colon Cancer

Jae Hak Lee1, Eun Jung Jun1, Hyun Ho Choi1, Seok In Hong1, Jin Il Kim1, Jae Kwang Kim1, Youn Soo Lee2

코인두로 전이된 대장암

이재학1, 전은정1, 최현호1, 홍석인1, 김진일1, 김재광1, 이연수2

Abstract

Metastatic adenocarcinoma from the gastrointestinal tract to the nasopharynx is rare. The histological morphology of this lesion is indistinguishable from the colonic variant of primary head and neck adenocarcinoma or intestinal-type adenocarcinoma (ITAC) of the nasal cavity. This is a report of metastatic adenocarcinoma of colorectal origin to the nasopharynx in a 58-year-old man who was previously treated for adenocarcinoma of the sigmoid colon. A histopathological study of the specimen from the nasopharynx demonstrated a tumor that was identical to the patient’s previous primary tumor from the colon. There was no tumor mass in the nasal cavity or paranasal sinuses. The nasopharyngeal tissue expressed cytokeratin 20 and CDX-2, but not cytokeratin 7. The patient received palliative radiation after the diagnosis. Distinguishing metastatic adenocarcinoma from the gastrointestinal tract from ITAC can be difficult. The clinical manifestation is important in differentiating these conditions. It is important to recognize these as metastatic lesions because treatment is primarily palliative.

Key Words: Colonic neoplasm; Nasopharynx; Metastasis