The strange swelling of the fingers and fingers of man revealed that cancer “completely replaced” bones with lesions

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A person developed painful swelling in his right middle finger and right big finger for six weeks, which led to the acquisition of club -shaped figures. It turned out that the strange swelling is a rare sign of cancer that has spread through his body.

Before developing the swelling, the 55-year-old was diagnosed with a metastatic squamous lung cancer, according to a case report published on July 16 in The New England Journal of MedicineS This type of cancer begins in flat, thin cells that outline the airwaysIn this case, the cancer has reached an advanced stage and has spread or metastasized to other parts of the body.

After noticing the swelling in his finger and finger, the man reported to the hospital for examination. Doctors found that the tip of each number affected was red and swollen. They also noted that the ulcer is formed near the nail of the affected soil. The swollen areas were hard to touch and gentle, doctors say.

The scanning of the affected arm and leg of the man revealed “destructive lithical lesions that completely replaced” the bones at the tips of the middle finger and the big toe. Lithical lesions are areas where the bone is destroyed, leaving holes or empty spaces in the skeleton. Such lesions are usually guided by a disease process as CancerS

Cancer that has spread to the bones of the toes or toes may mimic gout or osteomyelitis during a physical examination, but scanned, called radiographs, can help diagnose the condition, doctors noted. Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis and Osteomyelitis It causes inflammation in the bones, often due to infection, so both conditions can cause visible redness and swelling.

Based on his radiographs, the man was diagnosed with acrometastasis, a relatively rare form of cancer that occurs below the elbow or knee. Akrometastases represent only about 0.1% of cases where the cancer has spread to the bones according to a 2021 reviewS

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Most often, this rare symptom is observed in patients who are already known to have cancer, as in the recent case. But sometimes the symptoms of acrometastasis are First sign of previously undiagnosed cancerS Most often it is associated with cancers of the lungs, the gastrointestinal tract and the genital, according to the examination.

Akrometastases are much more observed in men than in women, according to the examination, which examines about 250 cases of conditions published between 1986 and 2020. This gender difference is also placed in flag in flag in Other reviews of literatureS The bones of the toes and toes were more likely to be affected by the other bones in the arm and the foot, the literature suggests.

Akrometastases are quite rare because when the cancer spreads in the bone, it is usually drawn to bone marrowwhich in adults is mainly found in the long bones of the hands and feet, ribs, spine, breast and pelvis. For comparison, the bones of the toes and toes contain a much smaller brain. They also get less blood flow from the bones, located closer to the heart, so this can also help explain why the cancer spreads to the fingers and toes, suggests the examination.

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As acrometastases are usually observed in late-stage cancer, they are associated with bad weather for survival-frequently Less than six months by diagnosing the condition. As such, treatment is usually focused on relieving the patient’s pain and retention as much functionality of the arm or foot. In the case of the 55-year-old youth began doctors Palliative radiationWhich aims to alleviate a person’s symptoms rather than cure their illness.

Doctors report that the patient has died three weeks later from complications of refractory hypercalcemia – dangerously high levels of blood calcium that do not fall in response to standard treatments. This condition is Often but not always, tied to cancerS

This article is for information purposes only and is not intended to offer medical advice.