An autopsied case of esophageal cancer metastasizing to primary hepatocellular carcinoma

An autopsied case of an esophageal cancer metastasizing to a primary hepatocellular carcinoma is reported. Histologically, the esophageal cancer revealed a moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma was determined as being an Edmondson Type I, arranged predominantly in a trabecular pattern, and was not concomitant with liver cirrhosis. Metastasis of one malignant tumor to another in the same individual is extremely rare. In most cases, such tumors metastasize to a renal cancer, because the kidney has a rich vascularity with an abundant blood supply. Thus we presumed that the esophageal cancer had metastasized to a hepatocellular carcinoma, due to this rich vascularity, though no liver cirrhosis was found in the recipient host tumor.