Article
Cancer metastases in the spleen
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Published: | March 20, 2006 |
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Introduction: Metastasis in the spleen is rare and a sign of expanded cancer disease. But it is unclear how often metastasis of an epithelial cancer arise in the spleen.
Material and method: We evaluated the documentation of the “Tumorcenter Schwerin” up to 31.12.2004 to receive the frequency of epithelial metastases in the spleen.
Results: 21 % of all 23.515 patients developed a metastasis. Only 83 patients (0.35 %) developed metastases in the spleen. The most frequent spleen-spreading cancer were endometrial cancer (4.35 %) followed by cancer of parotis (2.33 %) and anal cancer (2.08 %). 3 metastases occurred as a manifestation of a CUP-syndrome. Only 2 further patients developed an exclusively metastasis in the spleen (cancer of stomach and esophagus).
Conclusions: Epithelial cancer spread very rarely into the spleen. Only 5 patients of more than 23.000 tumor patients developed a solitaire metastasis in the spleen. In all other patients synchronous or metachronous metastases had arisen. The detection of a splenic tumor should lead to a histological clarifying of the lesion.