Metastatic Adenocarcinoma of Unknown Origin Presenting as Small Bowel Perforation

Abstract

Metastatic malignant tumors that originate from occult primaries are defined as “cancers of unknown origin.” We herein present the case of a 59-year-old man who presented with small bowel perforation secondary to metastatic adenocarcinoma of an unknown primary site. Imaging exhibited two pulmonary nodules, neither of which was dominant, along with mediastinal and retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy. Immunohistochemical profiling of the small bowel biopsy specimens revealed the tumor was most likely pulmonary in origin.