Published online May 16, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i14.4676
Peer-review started: November 27, 2021
First decision: January 12, 2022
Revised: January 27, 2022
Accepted: March 16, 2022
Article in press: March 16, 2022
Published online: May 16, 2022
Processing time: 167 Days and 2.5 Hours
Esophageal cancer is a common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Cutaneous metastasis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma is rare, particularly in diffuse skin metastasis.
In this case report, we describe an 82-year-old male who was diagnosed with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The tumor was staged as T4N3M1 (Stage IVB). The pathological findings revealed poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. Four months after diagnosis, the patient began chemotherapy, and symptoms were relieved after four cycles of chemotherapy. After that, the patient returned home without a systematic physical examination. One year after diagnosis, the patient realized that the skin of the abdominal wall was hard and rough without pain, and the color became darker than normal skin. Thirteen months after diagnosis, a biopsy of the patient’s abdominal lesion revealed that the skin metastasis was derived from the esophagus. Then the patient received two cycles of apatinib combined with docetaxel, but the abdominal lesion worsened. Two cycles of nivolumab were administered, but the patient eventually died of multiple organ failure.
This report highlights cutaneous metastasis as a late and untreatable metastasis of esophageal cancer.
Core Tip: Cutaneous metastasis from esophageal carcinoma is rare, especially esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. We present a patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus and metastasis to diffuse cutaneous tissue. Second-line chemotherapy and immunological checkpoint inhibitor treatment were not effective, and this patient only achieved a 4-mo survival time after cutaneous metastasis.