Gastrointestinal metastasis from primary lung cancer: CT findings and clinicopathologic features

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate retrospectively the CT findings and clinicopathologic features of gastrointestinal metastasis from lung cancer. CONCLUSION. The most common histologic type of lung cancer among the patients in this study was squamous cell carcinoma (n = 12). The most common clinical presentation was abdominal pain (n = 15). A total of 31 lesions were visualized on CT scans, involving the stomach (n = 3), small bowel (n = 26), and colon (n = 2). The metastatic lesions were seen on CT scans as wall thickening in 14 cases, an intraluminal polypoid mass in 14 cases, and an exophytic mass in three cases. The lesions exhibited isoattenuation in 19 cases, hypoattenuation in seven cases, and hyperattenuation in five cases. Complications included intussusception in seven cases, perforation in six cases, and obstruction in four cases.