Zhou FY, Song FH, Cheng ZH, Wu S. Discovery of primary lung cancer following resection of rectal cancer lung metastasis: A case report. World J Clin Oncol 2025; 16(2): 99635 [DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i2.99635]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Fang-Hua Song, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Department of Oncology II, Xinhua Hospital, Dalian University, No. 156 Wansi Street, Shahekou District, Dalian 116000, Liaoning Province, China. greentreesfh@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Oncol. Feb 24, 2025; 16(2): 99635 Published online Feb 24, 2025. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i2.99635
Discovery of primary lung cancer following resection of rectal cancer lung metastasis: A case report
Fei-Yan Zhou, Fang-Hua Song, Zhen-Hao Cheng, Sen Wu
Fei-Yan Zhou, Fang-Hua Song, Zhen-Hao Cheng, Sen Wu, Department of Oncology II, Xinhua Hospital, Dalian University, Dalian 116000, Liaoning Province, China
Author contributions: Zhou FY performed data analysis, contributed analysis tools, and wrote the paper; Song FH conceived and designed the study; Cheng ZH and Wu S analyzed the data. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: The study was approved by the Human Ethics Committee of Xinhua Hospital, Dalian University. Written informed consent was obtained from the patients themselves.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Fang-Hua Song, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Department of Oncology II, Xinhua Hospital, Dalian University, No. 156 Wansi Street, Shahekou District, Dalian 116000, Liaoning Province, China. greentreesfh@163.com
Received: July 26, 2024 Revised: September 24, 2024 Accepted: October 28, 2024 Published online: February 24, 2025 Processing time: 137 Days and 23.2 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks high among the most common types of malignant tumors. The primary cause of cancer-related mortality is metastasis, with lung metastases accounting for 32.9% of all cases of metastatic CRC (MCRC). However, cases of MCRC in the lungs, which present concurrently with primary peripheral lung adenocarcinoma, are exceptionally rare.
CASE SUMMARY
This report describes the case of a 52-year-old female patient who, following a colonoscopy, was diagnosed with moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma based on rectal mucosal biopsy findings. A preoperative chest computed tomography scan revealed a ground-glass nodule in the right lung and a small nodule (approximately 0.6 cm in diameter) in the extramural basal segment of the left lower lobe, which suggested multiple lung metastases from rectal cancer. Subsequent treatment and follow-up led to a diagnosis of rectal cancer with left lung metastasis and peripheral adenocarcinoma of the lower lobe of the right lung.
CONCLUSION
This case report describes the therapeutic journey of a patient with lung metastasis from rectal cancer in addition to primary peripheral adenocarcinoma, thus underscoring the critical roles of multidisciplinary collaboration, personalized treatment strategies, and comprehensive patient rehabilitation guidance.
Core Tip: A 52-year-old female patient was found to have both lung metastases and primary lung adenocarcinoma after rectal cancer surgery. By combining pathology, immunohistochemistry and molecular genetics techniques, we were able to successfully differentiate between the two different tumor types and formulate a personalized treatment plan that included wedge resection of the left lung and partial resection of the right lung. Multidisciplinary collaboration plays an important role in the treatment process and provides a valuable reference for the clinical management of similar cases.
