[Cardiac metastasis by hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Case report]

The patient was a 63-year-old Japanese male who came to the hospital with a chief complaint of a sore throat. Hypopharyngeal carcinoma (T4N2bM0, stage IVA) was diagnosed, and at the strong request of the patient he was treated by chemoradiotherapy. The tumor markedly decreased in size, but atrial fibrillation was detected when an ECG was performed in preparation for planned a scheduled re-biopsy of the hypopharynx. The echocardiography findings and result of a myocardial biopsy led to a diagnosis of cardiac metastasis by the hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Metastasis by head and neck malignancies is rare, and it is extremely rare for a confirmed diagnosis to be made while the patient is still alive. The case is described together with some discussion of the published literature.