Introduction:
Tumors of the diaphragm are uncommon. The overwhelming number of cases is metastatic combined with metastases to the liver, lungs and other organs. Only a minority of cases are described as solitary lesions.
Case presentation:
Fifty-five years old female with a history of radical curative surgery for pT3N0M0 endometrial cancer eight years ago was admitted to the Department of Thoracic Surgery with a feeling of discomfort in the right hypochondrium. The contrast-enhanced MDCT revealed a large, well-circumscribed lesion of the right hemidiaphragm deforming upper contour of the liver. A clear boundary between the lesion and the liver suggested former's diaphragmatic origin. PET-CT did not show any distant metastasis. Intraoperative revision revealed a tumor growing from the dome of the diaphragm with well-defined contours and without any signs of lung involvement. The diaphragmotomy was performed. The morphological study with immunohistochemistry showed an endometrial carcinoma metastasis to the diaphragm.
Conclusion:
The diaphragm lesions can have various etiology, but a probability of tumor metastasis after a previous radical surgery should not be excluded. Preoperative differential diagnostics can be difficult, leaving surgical treatment followed by a pathology study as the most informative diagnostic method of tumor morphology.