Carcinosis

Last updated

Carcinosis, or carcinomatosis, is disseminated cancer, forms of metastasis, whether used generally or in specific patterns of spread.

Contents

Usage

Carcinomatosis is often restricted to tumors of epithelial origin, adenocarcinomas, while sarcomatosis describes the dissemination of tumors of mesenchymal origin, sarcomas. [1]

Lung

Lymphangitic carcinomatosis

When most tumors metastasize to the lung, they form distinct nodules, but about 7% spread through the lymph vessels of the lung. [2] They may impair breathing in several ways; the lung becomes stiffer; blood vessels traveling alongside the distended lymph vessels become compressed. [3]

Miliary carcinosis

A pattern of multiple small nodular metastases has been described as miliary carcinosis which has a radiographic appearance similar to miliary tuberculosis. [4]

Body cavities

Any potential space may be seeded with tumor cells that grow along surfaces, but which may not invade below the surfaces. In rare cases, the joint spaces are affected. [5]

Peritoneal carcinomatosis

Intestines with peritoneal carcinomatosis from gastric cancer, appearing as a grainy serosal surface. Intestines with peritoneal carcinomatosis from gastric cancer.jpg
Intestines with peritoneal carcinomatosis from gastric cancer, appearing as a grainy serosal surface.

The lining of the abdominal cavity is a common site for surface dissemination. Ovarian carcinomas are common. Fluid produced by the cells can produce ascites which is typical in carcinomatosis, but less common in peritoneal sarcomatosis. [1] Fluid can be serous as seen in primary peritoneal carcinoma or mucinous such as found in pseudomyxoma peritonei which is typically a tumor derived from the appendix. [6]

Pleural carcinosis

Pleural carcinosis is associated with malignant pleural effusion and poor prognosis. [7]

Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis

The meningeal covering of the central nervous system may be the site of tumor growth. Breast cancer, lung cancer and melanoma are the most common tumors. [8]

Treatment

Colorectal cancer patients with peritoneal involvement can be treated with Oxaliplatin- or Irinotecan-based chemotherapy. Such treatment is not expected to be curative, but can extend the lives of patients. [9] Some patients may be cured through Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, but the procedure entails a high degree of risk for morbidity or death.

Related Research Articles

Mesothelioma Cancer associated with asbestos

Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs. The most common area affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lining of the abdomen and rarely the sac surrounding the heart, or the sac surrounding the testis may be affected. Signs and symptoms of mesothelioma may include shortness of breath due to fluid around the lung, a swollen abdomen, chest wall pain, cough, feeling tired, and weight loss. These symptoms typically come on slowly.

Adrenocortical carcinoma

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is an aggressive cancer originating in the cortex of the adrenal gland.

Pseudomyxoma peritonei

Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is a clinical condition caused by cancerous cells that produce abundant mucin or gelatinous ascites. The tumors cause fibrosis of tissues and impede digestion or organ function, and if left untreated, the tumors and mucin they produce will fill the abdominal cavity. This will result in compression of organs and will destroy the function of the colon, small intestine, stomach, or other organs. Prognosis with treatment in many cases is optimistic, but the disease is lethal if untreated, with death occurring via cachexia, bowel obstruction, or other types of complications.

Desmoplastic small-round-cell tumor An aggressive and rare cancer

Desmoplastic small-round-cell tumor (DSRCT) is an aggressive and rare cancer that primarily occurs as masses in the abdomen. Other areas affected may include the lymph nodes, the lining of the abdomen, diaphragm, spleen, liver, chest wall, skull, spinal cord, large intestine, small intestine, bladder, brain, lungs, testicles, ovaries, and the pelvis. Reported sites of metastatic spread include the liver, lungs, lymph nodes, brain, skull, and bones. It is characterized by the EWS-WT1 fusion protein.

Respiratory disease Disease of the respiratory system

Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, pleurae, pleural cavity, and the nerves and muscles of respiration. Respiratory diseases range from mild and self-limiting, such as the common cold, influenza, and pharyngitis to life-threatening diseases such as bacterial pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, tuberculosis, acute asthma, lung cancer, and severe acute respiratory syndromes, such as COVID-19. Respiratory diseases can be classified in many different ways, including by the organ or tissue involved, by the type and pattern of associated signs and symptoms, or by the cause of the disease.

Lymphangiomatosis

Lymphangiomatosis is a condition where a lymphangioma is not present in a single localised mass, but in a widespread or multifocal manner. It is a rare type of tumor which results from an abnormal development of the lymphatic system.

Cancer of unknown primary origin (CUP) is a cancer that is determined to be at the metastatic stage at the time of diagnosis, but a primary tumor cannot be identified. A diagnosis of CUP requires a clinical picture consistent with metastatic disease and one or more biopsy results inconsistent with a tumor cancer

Leptomeningeal cancer

Leptomeningeal cancer is a rare complication of cancer in which the disease spreads from the original tumor site to the meninges surrounding the brain and spinal cord. This leads to an inflammatory response, hence the alternative names neoplastic meningitis (NM), malignant meningitis, or carcinomatous meningitis. The term leptomeningeal describes the thin meninges, the arachnoid and the pia mater, between which the cerebrospinal fluid is located. The disorder was originally reported by Eberth in 1870.

In medicine, lung cancer staging is the assessment of the extent to which a lung cancer has spread from its original source. As with most cancers, staging is an important determinant of treatment and prognosis. In general, more advanced stages of cancer are less amenable to treatment and have a worse prognosis.

Uterine clear-cell carcinoma (CC) is a rare form of endometrial cancer with distinct morphological features on pathology; it is aggressive and has high recurrence rate. Like uterine papillary serous carcinoma CC does not develop from endometrial hyperplasia and is not hormone sensitive, rather it arises from an atrophic endometrium. Such lesions belong to the type II endometrial cancers.

Bone metastasis

Bone metastases, or osseous metastatic disease, is a category of cancer metastases that results from primary tumor invasion to bone. Bone-originating primary tumors such as osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, and Ewing's sarcoma are rare. Unlike hematological malignancies that originate in the blood and form non-solid tumors, bone metastases generally arise from epithelial tumors and form a solid mass inside the bone. Bone metastases cause severe pain, characterized by a dull, constant ache with periodic spikes of incident pain.

Neuroendocrine carcinoma of the cervix is best defined separately:Neuroendocrine: Of, relating to, or involving the interaction between the nervous system and the hormones of the endocrine glands.Carcinoma: An invasive malignant tumor derived from epithelial tissue that tends to metastasize to other areas of the body.

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy

Intraperitoneal hyperthermic chemoperfusion is a type of hyperthermia therapy used in combination with surgery in the treatment of advanced abdominal cancers. In this procedure, warmed anti-cancer medications are infused and circulated in the peritoneal cavity (abdomen) for a short period of time. The chemotherapeutic agents generally infused during IPHC are mitomycin-C and cisplatin.

Lewis lung carcinoma is a tumor that spontaneously developed as an epidermoid carcinoma in the lung of a C57BL mouse. It was discovered in 1951 by Dr. Margaret Lewis of the Wistar Institute and became one of the first transplantable tumors.

Asbestos-related diseases

Asbestos-related diseases are disorders of the lung and pleura caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibres. Asbestos-related diseases include non-malignant disorders such as asbestosis, diffuse pleural thickening, pleural plaques, pleural effusion, rounded atelectasis and malignancies such as lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma.

Hyperthermic intrathoracic chemotherapy (HITOC) is part of a surgical strategy employed in the treatment of various pleural malignancies. The pleura in this situation could be considered to include the surface linings of the chest wall, lungs, mediastinum, and diaphragm. HITOC is the chest counterpart of HIPEC. Traditionally used in the treatment of malignant mesothelioma, a primary malignancy of the pleura, this modality has recently been evaluated in the treatment of secondary pleural malignancies.

GL-ONC1 is an investigational therapeutic product consisting of the clinical grade formulation of the laboratory strain GLV-1h68, an oncolytic virus developed by Genelux Corporation. GL-ONC1 is currently under evaluation in Phase I/II human clinical trials in the United States and Europe.

Carcinoma of the tonsil is a type of squamous cell carcinoma. The tonsil is the most common site of squamous cell carcinoma in the oropharynx. It comprises 23.1% of all malignancies of the oropharynx. The tumors frequently present at advanced stages, and around 70% of patients present with metastasis to the cervical lymph nodes. . The most reported complaints include sore throat, otalgia or dysphagia. Some patients may complain of feeling the presence of a lump in the throat. Approximately 20% patients present with a node in the neck as the only symptom.

Ovarian germ cell tumors (OGCTs) are heterogeneous tumors that are derived from the primitive germ cells of the embryonic gonad, which accounts for about 2.6% of all ovarian malignancies. There are four main types of OGCTs, namely dysgerminomas, yolk sac tumor, teratoma, and choriocarcinoma.

Limited-stage small cell lung carcinoma

Limited-stage small cell lung carcinoma (LS-SCLC) is a type of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) that is confined to an area which is small enough to be encompassed within a radiation portal. This generally includes cancer to one side of the lung and those might have reached the lymph nodes on the same side of the lung. 33% patients with small cell lung cancer are diagnosed with limited-stage small cell lung carcinoma when it is first found. Common symptoms include but are not limited to persistent cough, chest pain, rust-coloured sputum, shortness of breath, fatigue, weight loss, wheezing, hoarseness and recurrent respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis. Nervous system problems, Cushing syndrome and SIADH can also be associated with small cell lung cancer. Unlike extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, limited-stage small cell lung carcinoma is potentially curable. Standard treatments consist of surgery, platinum-based combination chemotherapy, thoracic irradiation, and prophylactic cranial irradiation. Patient five year survival rate has significantly increased from 1% with surgery to 26% after the application of combination chemotherapy.

References

  1. 1 2 Oei, T. N.; Jagannathan, J. P.; Ramaiya, N.; Ros, P. R. (2010). "Peritoneal Sarcomatosis Versus Peritoneal Carcinomatosis: Imaging Findings at MDCT". American Journal of Roentgenology. 195 (3): W229–W235. doi:10.2214/AJR.09.3907. ISSN   0361-803X. PMID   20729420.
  2. Prakash, P.; Kalra, M. K.; Sharma, A.; Shepard, J.-A. O.; Digumarthy, S. R. (2009). "FDG PET/CT in Assessment of Pulmonary Lymphangitic Carcinomatosis". American Journal of Roentgenology. 194 (1): 231–236. doi:10.2214/AJR.09.3059. ISSN   0361-803X. PMID   20028927.
  3. Mark A. Marinella (7 May 2009). "12. Lymphangitic carcinomatosis". Handbook of Cancer Emergencies. Jones & Bartlett Learning. pp. 55–57. ISBN   978-0-7637-6989-5 . Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  4. Marks, J. L. (1950). "Metastatic Tumors of the Lung". Chest. 17 (1): 63–73. doi:10.1378/chest.17.1.63. ISSN   0012-3692. PMID   15399335.
  5. Currall, Verity A.; Dixon, John H. (2008). "Synovial Metastasis". The Journal of Arthroplasty. 23 (4): 631–636. doi:10.1016/j.arth.2007.04.034. ISSN   0883-5403. PMID   18514889.
  6. Young, Robert H. (2004). "Pseudomyxoma peritonei and selected other aspects of the spread of appendiceal neoplasms". Seminars in Diagnostic Pathology. 21 (2): 134–150. doi:10.1053/j.semdp.2004.12.002. ISSN   0740-2570. PMID   15807473.
  7. Ruffini, E (2002). "The significance of intraoperative pleural effusion during surgery for bronchogenic carcinoma". European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. 21 (3): 508–513. doi: 10.1016/S1010-7940(01)01166-6 . ISSN   1010-7940. PMID   11888772.
  8. Martins, Sandro José; Azevedo, Carla Rameri Alexandre Silva de; Chinen, Ludmilla Thomé Domingos; Cruz, Marcelo Rocha Sousa; Peterlevitz, Marcos Aurélio; Gimenes, Daniel Luiz (2011). "Meningeal carcinomatosis in solid tumors". Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria. 69 (6): 973–980. doi: 10.1590/S0004-282X2011000700024 . ISSN   0004-282X. PMID   22297890.
  9. Joerg O W Pelz, Terence C. Chua, Jesus Esquivel, et al. BMC Cancer, Volume 10, Published - Dec 22 2010. https://jhu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/evaluation-of-best-supportive-care-and-systemic-chemotherapy-as-t-3