Yan RX, Dou LB, Wang ZJ, Qiao X, Ji HH, Zhang YC. Parotid metastasis of rare lung adenocarcinoma: A case report. World J Clin Cases 2024; 12(6): 1182-1189 [PMID: 38464919 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v12.i6.1182]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Yan-Cong Zhang, PhD, Chief Physician, Chief Technician, Department of Stomatology, Dezhou People’s Hospital, East Red West Road, Dezhou 253000, Shandong Province, China. zhangyancong2011@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Dentistry, Oral Surgery & Medicine
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/
Ru-Xi Yan, Xue Qiao, Hong-Hai Ji, School of Stomatology, Weifang Medical University, Weifang 261000, Shandong Province, China
Lin-Bo Dou, Yan-Cong Zhang, Department of Stomatology, Dezhou People’s Hospital, Dezhou 253000, Shandong Province, China
Zi-Jia Wang, Department of Stomatology, Dezhou Women and Children's Hospital, Dezhou 253000, Shandong Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Hong-Hai Ji and Yan-Cong Zhang.
Author contributions: Yan RX and Dou LB were involved in management of case and preparation of manuscript; Wang ZJ and Qiao X were responsible for the revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content and collecting references; Ji HH and Zhang YC were involved in workup of the case and also helped in preparing the manuscript. Ji HH and Zhang YC contributed equally to this work as co-corresponding authors, they contributed efforts of equal substance throughout the research process, the designation of co-corresponding authorship accurately reflects our team's collaborative spirit and equal contributions.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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: Yan-Cong Zhang, PhD, Chief Physician, Chief Technician, Department of Stomatology, Dezhou People’s Hospital, East Red West Road, Dezhou 253000, Shandong Province, China. zhangyancong2011@163.com
Received: December 8, 2023 Peer-review started: December 8, 2023 First decision: December 29, 2023 Revised: January 5, 2024 Accepted: January 29, 2024 Article in press: January 29, 2024 Published online: February 26, 2024
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of malignancy-related deaths worldwide. The most common sites of metastasis include the nervous system, bone, liver, respiratory system, and adrenal glands. LC metastasis in the parotid gland is very rare, and its diagnosis presents a challenge. Here, we report a case of parotid metastasis in primary LC.
CASE SUMMARY
The patient was a 74-year-old male who was discovered to have bilateral facial asymmetry inadvertently two years ago. The right earlobe was slightly swollen and without pain or numbness. Computed tomography (CT) examination showed bilateral lung space-occupying lesions. Pulmonary biopsy was performed and revealed adenocarcinoma (right-upper-lung nodule tissue). Positron emission tomography-CT examination showed: (1) Two hypermetabolic nodules in the right upper lobe of the lung, enlarged hypermetabolic lymph nodes in the right hilar and mediastinum, and malignant space-occupying lesion in the right upper lobe of the lung and possible metastasis to the right hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes; and (2) multiple hypermetabolic nodules in bilateral parotid glands. Parotid puncture biopsy was performed considering lung adenocarcinoma metastasis. Gene detection of lung biopsy specimens revealed an EGFR gene 21 exon L858R mutation.
CONCLUSION
This case report highlights the challenging diagnosis of parotid metastasis in LC given its rare nature. Such lesions should be differentiated from primary tumors of the parotid gland. Simple radiological imaging is unreliable, and puncture biopsy is needed for final diagnosis of this condition.
Core Tip: A 74-year-old male presented with a bilateral facial asymmetry. Computed tomography examination revealed bilateral lung space-occupying lesions. Pulmonary biopsy was performed on the right-upper-lung nodule tissue and revealed the presence of adenocarcinoma. Parotid puncture biopsy was performed considering lung adenocarcinoma metastasis. This work highlights the challenging diagnosis of parotid metastasis in lung cancer and the need for biopsy in the final diagnosis.
