Author/Authors :
Chen, Xiao-Hong Department of Otolaryngology - the First Affiliated Hospital - College of Medicine - Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, China , Bao, Yang-Yang Department of Otolaryngology - the First Affiliated Hospital - College of Medicine - Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, China , Zhou, Shui-Hong Department of Otolaryngology - the First Affiliated Hospital - College of Medicine - Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, China , Wang, Qin-Ying Department of Otolaryngology - the First Affiliated Hospital - College of Medicine - Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, China , Zhao, Kui Centre of PET - the First Affiliated Hospital - College of Medicine - Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, China
Abstract :
Metastasis from a malignant tumor to the palatine tonsils is rare, accounting for only 0.8% of all tonsillar tumors, with only 100 cases reported in the English-language literature. Various malignant lung carcinomas may metastasize to the tonsils. A few cases of tonsillar metastasis from neuroendocrine lung carcinoma have been reported. A 67-year-old female underwent a right tonsillectomy because of a sore throat and an enlarged right tonsil. The postoperative pathology showed right tonsillar small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (SCNC). Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) demonstrated metabolic activity in the lower lobe of the right lung. In addition, hypermetabolic foci were noted in the lymph nodes of the right neck and mediastinum. A needle biopsy of the pulmonary mass showed SCNC. The patient received chemotherapy and died of multiple distant metastases after 6 months. This is the first report using PET/CT to evaluate tonsillar metastasis from lung SCNC.
Keywords :
Palatine Tonsil , Carcinoma , Neuroendocrine , Lung
