Metastasis of endometrial cancer to right hemidiaphragm: A case report

Tumors of the diaphragm are uncommon. The overwhelming number of cases is metastatic combined with metastases to the liver, lungs and other organs. Only a minority of cases are described as solitary lesions.

Fifty-five years old female with a history of radical curative surgery for pT3N0M0 endometrial cancer eight years ago was admitted to the Department of Thoracic Surgery with a feeling of discomfort in the right hypochondrium. The contrast-enhanced MDCT revealed a large, well-circumscribed lesion of the right hemidiaphragm deforming upper contour of the liver. A clear boundary between the lesion and the liver suggested former's diaphragmatic origin. PET-CT did not show any distant metastasis. Intraoperative revision revealed a tumor growing from the dome of the diaphragm with well-defined contours and without any signs of lung involvement. The diaphragmotomy was performed. The morphological study with immunohistochemistry showed an endometrial carcinoma metastasis to the diaphragm.

The diaphragm lesions can have various etiology, but a probability of tumor metastasis after a previous radical surgery should not be excluded. Preoperative differential diagnostics can be difficult, leaving surgical treatment followed by a pathology study as the most informative diagnostic method of tumor morphology.