[Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy in a patient with nasopharyngeal carcinoma]

A clinic-pathological study of a 12 year-old male diagnosed of non-differentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) was carried out. The patients presented secondary hypertrophic osteoarthropathy prior to the development of lung metastases. Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy is a clinic-radiological syndrome characterized by a neoformation of periosteal bone, fundamentally located in long bones and distal ends of metacarpal bones. Polyarticular and synovial involvement is also observed. Association between NPC and hypertrophic osteoarthropathy is uncommon and appears to suggest the existence of metastatic spread (probably to the lung), particularly in young patients.