Features of endobronchial metastases from extrathoracic malignancy and positron emission tomography‑computerized tomography findings

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate radiological and bronchoscopic aspects of endobronchialmetastases (EBMs) from extrapulmonary cancers and the correlation of EBM with findings ofintegrated positron emission tomography‑computed tomography (PET‑CT) findings.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients who underwent bronchoscopic evaluation between January2013 and December were analyzed retrospectively. Patients with endobronchial lesions in the airwaysand histopathologically diagnosed with extrapulmonary cancer metastasis were included in the study.RESULTS: A total of 16 patients with EBM who underwent bronchoscopic biopsies were evaluated.The patients consisted of 10 (62.5%) females and 6 (37.5%) males and the mean age was 61.8 ± 9.1.The common primary cancer related to EBM was breast 9 (%56.4). The mean interval from diagnosisof primary cancer to EBM was 55.1 ± 48.5 (1–180) months. A total of 13 (81.2%) cases were assessedwith the PET‑CT report. The mean SUVmax value of the lung lesions was calculated as 9.8 ± 4.3.According to PET‑CT, 92.4% of the cases had extrapulmonary metastasis. The mean survival durationfrom diagnosis of EBM was 8.5 ± 6.7 (1–21) months in 9 deceased patients.CONCLUSION: The most frequent extrapulmonary primary tumors with endobronchial metastasiswere breast and the mean survival time was usually short. It was reported that most cases weremultimetastatic. It was concluded that PET‑CT can play a role in identifying the EBM and other organmetastasis and was important tool in planning the treatment.