Esophageal metastasis from endometrial adenocarcinoma: a case report and literature review

Esophageal metastasis from a primary lesion is considered rare, especially when deriving from endometrial adenocarcinomas. Here, we describe a case of a 58-year-old woman presenting with a 3-month history of progressive dysphagia and lower abdominal pain. Subsequently, a poorly differentiated esophageal carcinoma was confirmed by endoscopic biopsy. The pathological and immunohistochemical analyses of the esophageal lesion were similar to that of the endometrial adenocarcinoma that had been removed 2 years earlier, suggesting that the esophageal tumor derived from her previous endometrial adenocarcinoma. The patient received 6 cycles of paclitaxel plus carboplatin first-line chemotherapy and 2 cycles of epirubicin plus cisplatin second-line chemotherapy, with continued disease progression. After switching to apatinib, computed tomography (CT) scans revealed stable disease after 2 months of treatment. Our goal in this case report was to increase the awareness of clinicians and pathologists regarding the possibility of esophageal metastasis originating from endometrial adenocarcinoma, although it is a rare occurrence. Apatinib may be effective for treating metastatic endometrial carcinoma. However, further investigations are warranted to determine the optimal targeted agent for this condition.