A 55-year-old man with advanced lung cancer developed unusual swelling in his right middle finger and big toe, which quickly took on a clublike appearance.
According to a report published in the New England Journal of Medicine and covered by Live Science, scans showed that cancer had “completely replaced” the bones at the tips of both digits with destructive lesions. The condition, known as acrometastasis, is an exceptionally rare form of bone metastasis.
Acrometastasis occurs when cancer spreads to the bones of the fingers or toes and accounts for only about 0.1% of all bone metastases. It is most commonly associated with cancers of the lung, gastrointestinal tract and genitourinary system, and typically appears in late-stage disease, more frequently in men than in women.
Experts believe the rarity may be due to the limited marrow and blood supply in these smaller bones compared to larger ones.
In this case, the patient’s affected digits were described as red, swollen, firm and tender. The toe also developed an ulcer near the nail, symptoms that could easily be mistaken for gout or bone infections. However, imaging, specifically radiographs, can uncover the true cause.
Given that acrometastasis usually signals advanced cancer, prognosis tends to be poor, often with survival measured in months. Treatment strategies generally aim at relieving pain and maintaining function rather than achieving a cure.
The man received palliative radiotherapy, but tragically, he died three weeks later from complications related to refractory hypercalcemia, a severe elevation in blood calcium levels sometimes caused by cancer.
Shongjog 