Clinical manifestations of lung cancer metastasis

Lung cancer is prone to distant metastasis or local dissemination through the blood and lymphatic channels. When lung cancer metastasizes to the brain and affects the central nervous system, symptoms and signs such as headache, vomiting, dizziness, ataxia, and paralysis of the cranial nerves may occur. When it metastasizes to the bones, it may cause local pain and tenderness in the corresponding parts. When it metastasizes to the liver, it may cause liver enlargement, jaundice, and ascites. It is common for lung cancer lymph node metastasis to cause supraclavicular and cervical lymph node enlargement.

Some lung cancer patients have another type of symptoms and signs, which are not caused by the direct effect or metastasis of the tumor, but manifested in organs outside the chest, so they are called extrapulmonary manifestations of lung cancer, also known as extrapulmonary manifestations. They manifest as abnormal changes in the endocrine, neuromuscular, skin and connective tissue, blood and vascular systems. For example, the endocrine system includes Cushing's syndrome, carcinoid syndrome, abnormal antidiuretic hormone syndrome, hypercalcemia and high (low) blood sugar, etc.; the muscle system may have hypertrophic osteoarthritis, polymyositis, osteomalacia and myopathy, etc.; the skin and connective tissue include dermatomyositis, acanthosis nigricans, erythema multiforme,