Clivus metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma: a rare location

Lung cancer is the most frequently encountered cancer in humans and commonly metastasizes to brain and bone. Metastasis to the clivus is very rare and there have been no previous reports. A 51-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital complaining of headache, and left shoulder, arm and back pain. The chest X-ray showed a left paracardiac mass measuring 4x4 cm in diameter and the thorax computed tomographic examination revealed a 4x4 cm mass in the left lower lobe, left hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy, and multiple lytic lesions in the thoracic vertebral bodies. Head magnetic resonance imaging showed a mass in the clivus with bony destruction. Bronchoscopic examination revealed an exophytic endobronchial lesion in the left lower bronchus lumen and a biopsy was taken from this lesion. The histopathological diagnosis was "poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma". A punch biopsy was taken from the clivus via the transnasal-transphenoidal route. Histopathological findings of this biopsy were similar to the primary site tumor. We report a rare case of clivus metastasis from squamous cell lung cancer.