Pancreatic cancer with a skeletal muscle metastasis - A case presentation and literature review

Abstract

One-half of patients with newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer will have metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis, mainly due to its non-specific initial clinical presentation which includes abdominal pain, dyspepsia, weight loss, bowel habit changes, jaundice and pruritus. The signs, symptoms and stage of the disease at initial diagnosis depends on the origin of the primary tumor, with tumors of the head presenting earlier with obstructive symptoms while tumors of the body/tail are often diagnosed at an advanced stage due to their non-specific presentation. The most common sites of metastasis are the lymph nodes, liver, lung, and peritoneum. The presence of metastatic disease in the skeletal muscles is a rare manifestation of pancreatic cancer and has been described in a limited number of cases. We report the case of a pancreatic cancer patient with a solitary muscle lesion as the only site of extra-nodal metastasis upon initial presentation.

Highlighting the idea of exerkines in the management of cancer patients with cachexia: novel insights and a critical review

“…Epidemiological data show that skeletal muscle wasting is seen in most cancers [ 19 , 20 ]. Skeletal muscles are more affected than other organs during CC [ 21 , 22 ], however our understanding of why skeletal muscle is more affected by CC is incomplete.…”