Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus initially presenting as a large retroperitoneal mass: A case diagnosed as cancer of unknown primary site

Abstract

Retroperitoneal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of unknown origin is uncommon. It is extremely rare when the primary site detected in the esophagus after 18 months. A 59-year-old female patient with waist pain was initially diagnosed as retroperitoneal metastatic SCC of occult origin. Six cycles of chemotherapy with cisplatin, paclitaxel and 5-fluorouracil were administered and clinical complete response was observed. The primary site was detected in the esophagus after 18 months and the overall survival (OS) was 28 months. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) initially presenting as a metastatic site with long progression-free survival (PFS) and OS. In conclusion, the different biological characteristics and complete response to first-line chemotherapy likely contribute to relatively long PFS and OS.