Case Report: Mimicking benignity: hepatic sinusoidal metastasis masquerading as diffuse liver disease in small cell lung cancer

BackgroundSmall cell lung cancer is extremely aggressive. Although liver metastasis is common, cases of diffuse intra-sinusoidal metastasis leading to liver failure and death are quite rare.Case presentationThis paper reports a case of a 58-year-old male diagnosed with small cell lung cancer through...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lujiao Chen, Lulin Chen, Jianfeng Yang, Minxia Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-08-01
Series:Frontiers in Oncology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2025.1655532/full
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Summary:BackgroundSmall cell lung cancer is extremely aggressive. Although liver metastasis is common, cases of diffuse intra-sinusoidal metastasis leading to liver failure and death are quite rare.Case presentationThis paper reports a case of a 58-year-old male diagnosed with small cell lung cancer through a pathological biopsy, who died due to the rapid progression of liver failure caused by diffuse hepatic sinusoidal metastasis during subsequent treatment.ConclusionsDiffuse intra-sinusoidal liver metastasis originating from small cell lung cancer may serve as a clinically occult cause of liver failure. Such metastases progress rapidly, often leading to death within days to weeks. For patients with a history of malignant tumors, if imaging studies reveal diffuse liver lesions and rapidly progressing liver function abnormalities, there should be a high suspicion of diffuse hepatic sinusoidal metastasis. A timely liver biopsy should be performed to confirm the diagnosis, providing a theoretical basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment.
ISSN:2234-943X