An Unusual Presentation of Merkel Cell Carcinoma
Articles > Article ยท 2011
Authors: Kamuran Ibis, Mert Saynak, Taner AKALIN, Dilek Nurlu, Sernaz Uzunoglu
Balkan Medical Journal, International, WoS, 2011, vol 29, pp 112-114
DOI: 10.5152/balkanmedj.2011.003
Summary
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 2 nd 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 6 th 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.