Metastases of esophageal carcinoma to the skeletal muscle are rare, but the incidence may be increasing because of better diagnosis resulting from widespread use of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). A cohort of 205 patients with esophageal carcinoma treated at our center who had PET/CT between 2006 and 2010 was retrospectively evaluated for the presence of skeletal muscle metastases. Four patients had skeletal muscle metastases of esophageal carcinoma, including two patients with squamous cell carcinoma. In another patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus and synchronous skeletal muscle metastases, muscle metastases were subsequently shown to be related to second primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma. In all cases, skeletal muscle metastases were the first manifestation of systemic disease. In three patients palliation was obtained with the combination of external beam radiation therapy, systemic chemotherapy or surgical resection. Skeletal muscle metastases are a rare complication of esophageal carcinoma.
Keywords: Drug therapy; Esophageal neoplasms; Muscle; Positron-emission tomography; Radiotherapy; Skeletal.