Pulmonary embolus as a first presentation of occult metastatic prostate cancer

A 65-year-old gentleman with a previous history of pulmonary embolus presented with a subacute onset of shortness of breath, haemoptysis and chest pain associated with a swollen left leg. Ultrasound Doppler scanning of the leg revealed no deep-vein thrombosis. Thereafter, a CT scan of the pulmonary vasculature revealed a large right-sided pulmonary embolus. CT scanning of the abdomen and pelvis was performed to look for evidence of an intra-abdominal source of thrombus and revealed evidence of a moderate sized pelvic mass causing obstructive uropathy. Urological review of the patient revealed a hard prostate and raised prostate specific antigen, consistent with a diagnosis of primary prostatic carcinoma, which after investigation with a radioisotope bone scan was found to have metastasised to the bony pelvis.