Tissue is the issue

Multimodal therapy, including preoperative chemoradiotherapy followed by total mesorectal excision, has become the standard treatment for patients with locoregionally advanced rectal cancer.1 We report on a 54- year old female patient with rectal adenocarcinoma cT3N0M0, who was treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (capecitabine 825 mg/m² BID 5 days/week + 45 Gy in 25 fractions) followed by total mesorectal excision and adjuvant capecitabine for six months. Eleven weeks after the start of adjuvant capecitabine, she presented with dyspnoea, non-productive cough, shortness of breath, chest wall pain, and decrease of physical activity, for which she was admitted to the Antwerp University Hospital (UZA) in Edegem. Computed tomography (CT) revealed pulmonary emboli, enlarged mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes, and multiple micronodules in both lungs. Radiologic findings were suggestive of metastatic lymph nodules and numerous pulmonary metastases. However, pathological diagnosis showed nude granulomas without necrosis without evidence of tumour. Our case illustrates that sarcoid-like lesions may mimic lung metastases in cancer patients being treated with chemotherapy and that tissue still remains the issue.

Publication year:2021

Keywords:A1 Journal article

Accessibility:Open