An autopsy case of right ventricular cardiac metastasis from squamous cell carcinoma of the left hand

Abstract

We here report a 60-year-old woman in whom autopsy revealed a metastasis in the right cardiac ventricle from a well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the left hand. The tumors in the myocardium and left hand were both well-differentiated SCCs with keratinization and sporadic keratin pearls. High concentrations of heart failure markers together with a pericardial effusion suggested antemortem chronic heart failure. Our case is particularly unusual because there were no regional lymph node metastases and the cardiac metastasis was not one of multiple metastases; thus, hematogenous metastasis to the right side of the heart alone had occurred.

Keywords

• Squamous cell carcinoma
• Cardiac metastasis
• Hematogenous