Tumor-to-tumor metastases in Cowden’s disease: an autopsy case report and review of the literature

Tumor-to-tumor metastasis is a rare phenomenon, but it has been suggested to be more frequent in patients with hereditary cancer syndrome. We report an autopsy case of tumor-to-tumor metastasis in a 75-year-old male. At 6 months before his death, the patient complained of hoarseness and dysphagia, and clinical whole-body examinations revealed advanced lung adenocarcinoma (T4N2M1b, Stage IV), multiple skin verrucas, gastrointestinal polyposis, goiters, and cerebellar dysplastic gangliocytoma (Lhermitte-Duclos disease), while PTEN gene mutation was detected in his serum. An mTOR inhibitor had been used to treat his lung adenocarcinoma, but he developed aspiration pneumonia and died of respiratory failure. Autopsy revealed that the lung adenocarcinoma had metastasized to cavernous hemangiomas of the right atrial appendage and liver, to cerebellar dysplastic gangliocytoma and to multiple organs such as the liver, kidney, adrenal glands and spine. This is the first reported case of Cowden's disease with multiple tumor-to-tumor metastases.