A case of laparoscopic lymphadenectomy for adenocarcinoma of unknown primary incidentally detected as a solitary enlarged lymph node along the common hepatic artery

TL;DR

A rare case of cancer of unknown primary was found in a lymph node near the liver and successfully treated with laparoscopic surgery.

Contribution

This is the first reported case of CUP presenting as a solitary enlarged lymph node along the common hepatic artery.

Findings

A 68-year-old patient had a solitary No.8a lymph node diagnosed as metastatic adenocarcinoma with no identifiable primary site.

Laparoscopic lymphadenectomy achieved radical resection with no postoperative complications.

Immunohistopathology confirmed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, distinct from the patient's prior gastric cancer.

Abstract

Even in cancer of unknown primary (CUP), which is rare clinical condition, solitary anterosuperior lymph node (LN) along the common hepatic artery (No.8a LN) enlargement diagnosed as metastatic adenocarcinoma has never been reported.

A 68-year-old Japanese male, with a history of early gastric cancer that had been completely treated by endoscopic submucosal dissection 26 years ago, was detected a single enlarged nodule along the common hepatic artery, No.8a LN, incidentally by computed tomography performed for monitoring of interstitial pneumonia. Endoscopic ultra-sound-guided fine needle aspiration revealed that this nodule was adenocarcinoma suggestive of metastasis, but other imaging studies, including upper and lower gastrointestinal endoscopy, positron emission tomography, and ultrasonography did not detect any primary cancer. We have finally diagnosed as the LN metastasis of CUP and performed laparoscopic lymphadenectomy for this tumor. The tumor was approximately 5 cm in size, was in close proximity to the pancreas, and involved part of the right gastric artery and vein. LNs in the No.5 and No.8a areas, including this tumor, were dissected laparoscopically, and radical resection was achieved. The patient had no postoperative complication and was discharged on postoperative day 10. Immunohistopathological findings revealed that the tumor was poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, and different from the histology of gastric cancer resected 26 years ago, although the tumor was suggestive of gastrointestinal origin. Imaging studies performed 2 and 6 months after discharge also did not reveal a primary site.

We reported a case of solitary No.8a LN adenocarcinoma of CUP. For diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, radical resection is recommended for single enlarged intra-abdominal LN of CUP.

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