Symptomatic Colonic Metastasis in a Patient with Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Lung cancer is the leading cause of death related to cancer in the United States.1 Of the various types of lung cancer, the majority are nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A significant number of patients that present with NSCLC have distant metastases at the time of diagnosis, however, only a small percentage have abdominal metastasis.1,2 Abdominal metastases are most often squamous cell carcinoma and can be found in the liver, adrenal glands, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, gastrointestinal (GI) tract, peritoneum, or abdominal lymph nodes.1-3 Metastases to the GI tract are rare with a prevalence rate of 0.5 14% and are often asymptomatic but can present with abdominal pain, intestinal obstruction, bloody stool, diarrhea, or intestinal perforation.4,5 Colonic metastasis often is not diagnosed during life, with up to onethird diagnosed during an autopsy.2 We present a female with a history of Stage IV NSCLC diagnosed with sigmoid colon metastases after complaints of bright red blood per rectum.