Abstract
In the case of a 76–year–old man followed up for esophagectomy in lower thoracic esophageal cancer and adjuvant chemotherapy, diffusion–weighted imaging (DWI) in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detected a 1.5 cm mass eight months postoperatively confirmed in CT and FDG–PET. Suspecting isolated esophageal cancer lymph node or pulmonary metastasis, we conducted mass reduction. The 2 cm elastic hard–surfaced, mass had invaded the pulmonary pleura and was histopathologically diagnosed as moderatelydifferentiated squamous cell carcinoma metastasising to the lung from esophageal cancer. We thus found DWI useful in diagnosing postoperative esophageal cancer metastasis to the lung, as may be further borne out as cases accumulate.
