An Unusual Presentation of Merkel Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

We describe a 71-year-old male patient admitted to the hospital with posterior chest pain. Following the detection of a paravetebral mass at the level of the 2nd thoracic vertebra, the patient underwent a surgical en bloc resection of the mass. The histopathologic examination revealed a Merkel cell carcinoma. One month after the operation, magnetic resonance imaging showed an inoperable mass in the same location, which indicated a rapid progression of the tumor. The patient died of progressive respiratory failure due to pneumonia on the 6th day after the onset of radiochemotherapy. Although this appears to be an isolated case, Merkel cell carcinoma must be included in the differential diagnosis of intrathoracic masses. Turkish Başlık: Merkel Hücreli Karsinomun Nadir Bir Presentasyonu Anahtar Kelimeler: Merkel hücreli karsinom, intratorasik, ekstrakütanöz Yetmişbir yaşındaki erkek hastanın sırt ağrısı şikayetiyle hastaneye başvurusu sonrasında yapılan tetkiklerinde sol paravertebral alan ikinci vertebra düzeyinde kitle tespit edilmiş ve kitlenin en blok rezeksiyonu sonrasında histopatolojik olarak Merkel hücreli karsinom tanısı konmuştur. Postoperatif birinci ayında manyetik rezonans incelemede aynı alanda tespit edilen ve inoperabl olarak değerlendirilen kitle hastalığın hızlı ilerlediğini düşündürdü. Hasta radyokemoterapinin 6. gününde pnömoni sonucunda ortaya çıkan solunum yetersizliği nedeniyle hayatını kaybetti. Bu çok nadir görülebilecek bir olgu olmakla birlikte, intratorasik kitlelerin ayırıcı tanısında Merkel hücreli karsinom da düşünülmelidir.

Keywords

• Merkel cell carcinoma, intrathoracic, extracutaneous

An Unusual Presentation of Merkel Cell Carcinoma

Öz

Kaynakça

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