Successful combined resection of carcinoma of the esophagus and adrenal metastasis: Report of a case

Abstract

We report herein the case of a 56-year-old man who underwent successful combined resection of carcinoma of the esophagus and an adrenal metastasis. The patient presented with carcinoma of the thoracic esophagus, and an adrenal tumor was incidentally detected by computed tomography(CT). Complete removal of the carcinoma was accomplished along with a combined resection of the thoracic esophagus and left adrenal gland. Surgery was followed by the administration of anticancer chemotherapeutic agents. He is currently doing well with a grade 1 performance status and no signs of recurrence 22 months after his operation. To our knowledge, no previous report of the successful simultaneous resection of esophageal carcinoma and an adrenal metastasis has been documented in the literature.

Surgical resection of solitary adrenal metastasis from esophageal carcinoma following esophagectomy

“…Single adrenal metastasis is very rare, and only a few cases with resection have been reported to survive over a year. [3][4][5][6] In our case, we resected a solitary adrenal metastatic tumor. Our patient's quality of life has been good for 42 months.…”

“…2 In addition, metastasis to distant organs is frequent, particularly into the liver, lungs, and adrenal glands, which have been rarely operated upon. [3][4][5][6]11,12 However, we report here a case of resection of solitary adrenal metastasis from esophageal carcinoma following esophagectomy with no recurrence.…”

“…[3][4][5] One case was resected during esophagectomy (Table 1). 6 Prognosis of distant organ metastases is very poor, involving survival of 4-6 months. [7][8][9] However, a few cases with longer survival rates have been reported in Japan.…”

Outcomes of multimodality therapy for stage IVB esophageal cancer with distant organ metastasis (M1-Org)

“…Multimodality therapy – consisting of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery – has been well established as an effective treatment for primary locally advanced esophageal carcinoma 1,2,9–11 . Although several studies have reported using multimodality therapy for far advanced esophageal cancer, most series include few, if any, patients with distant organ metastases 12–15 . Therefore, the outcomes and prognosis in esophageal cancer patients with organ metastases who receive multimodality therapy remain largely unknown.…”

Esophageal adenocarcinoma metastasis in the left adrenal gland diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration

“…[3] The prevalence of the neoplastic dissemination to the adrenal glands varies from about 5% in clinical evaluation studies to 13.6% in autopsies studies. [24] In this context, there are some isolated reports in the literature suggesting the benefit of adrenalectomy in patients with esophageal carcinoma, when the gland represents a single metastatic site, suggesting some benefits in the survival rates of these individuals. [345]…”