Surgical resection and chemoradiotherapy for metachronous pulmonary metastasis of basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus

• Basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus (BSCCE) is a rare entity.
• A recurrent lesion was observed after resection of the pulmonary BSCCE metastasis.
• Pulmonary metastasis of BSCCE after lung metastasectomy was treated successfully with chemoradiotherapy.

IntroductionBasaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus (BSCCE) is a relatively rare variant of oesophageal malignancy. There are no established treatment strategies for pulmonary metastases of BSCCE.Presentation of caseA 72-year-old man underwent oesophagectomy and subsequently received a pathological diagnosis of stage IIIA (T3N1M0) BSCCE according to Union for International Cancer Control. One year and 5 months later, he underwent partial resection of the right lung because of metastasis of the BSCCE. One year and 6 months after the pulmonary resection, recurrence in the right lung was observed. The patient was treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy using cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil, and the lesion completely disappeared. The patient is doing well without recurrence 5 years after chemoradiotherapy.DiscussionIn our case, the recurrent lesion in the right lung was observed after the pulmonary resection. It is difficult to determine whether the recurrent lesion is solitary or multiple and whether it is a local or pleural metastasis. Therefore, surgical indication must be decided carefully. Systemic chemotherapy or radiotherapy is useful to treat BSCCE metastasis, however, appropriate, but which agents and their regimens are appropriate is not clear. Concurrent chemotherapy using cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil and radiotherapy for pulmonary BSCCE metastases may provide curative therapy and should be considered.ConclusionThis report describes a case of recurrent pulmonary metastasis after pulmonary resection of BSCCE metastasis, successfully treated by concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Further studies are required to establish the indications and efficacy of these therapeutic approaches.