Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Clin Oncol. May 24, 2026; 17(5): 120273
Published online May 24, 2026. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v17.i5.120273
Published online May 24, 2026. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v17.i5.120273
Abdominal nodal metastasis from an unknown primary: A case report and review of literature
Yi Lu, Qi Zhu, Yao Xiao, Ru-Yan Pan, Ling-Hui Deng, Qi Zhang, Yue Wang, Department of Oncology, Wujin Hospital Affiliated with Jiangsu University, Changzhou 213000, Jiangsu Province, China
Yi Lu, Qi Zhu, Yao Xiao, Ru-Yan Pan, Ling-Hui Deng, Qi Zhang, Yue Wang, Department of Oncology, The Wujin Clinical College of Xuzhou Medical University, Changzhou 213000, Jiangsu Province, China
Co-first authors: Yi Lu and Qi Zhu.
Author contributions: Lu Y and Zhu Q reviewed the patient information and wrote the manuscript; Xiao Y and Pan RY collected the images and added annotations; Deng LH and Zhang Q checked the pathological analysis; Wang Y reviewed the manuscript and formulated the treatment plan; Lu Y and Zhu Q contributed equally to this work; and all authors agree to the publication of the final manuscript.
Supported by the Key Laboratory Open Project of Jiangsu Province Universities, No. XZSYSKF2020005; the 2024 Annual Basic Project of Nanjing Medical University Changzhou Medical Center, No. CMCB202427; and Changzhou Wujin District Science and Technology Support Program Project, No. WS201924.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Corresponding author: Yue Wang, MD, Chief Physician, Deputy Director, Department of Oncology, Wujin Hospital Affiliated with Jiangsu University, No. 2 Yongning North Road, Tianning District, Changzhou 213000, Jiangsu Province, China. wangyue0512@163.com
Received: February 24, 2026
Revised: March 13, 2026
Accepted: March 27, 2026
Published online: May 24, 2026
Processing time: 87 Days and 23.1 Hours
Revised: March 13, 2026
Accepted: March 27, 2026
Published online: May 24, 2026
Processing time: 87 Days and 23.1 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is a metastatic cancer whose origin site remains undetermined after comprehensive examinations. Abdominal lymph node metastasis, a common clinical manifestation of CUP, is prone to diagnostic errors because the tissue of origin is often incompletely identified. We report a case where the initial diagnosis was early gastric cancer with abdominal lymph node metastasis. After relevant re-examination, the metastatic lymph nodes were determined to originate from prostate cancer. This emphasizes the importance of diagnostic awareness of suspicious metastatic lesions and the significance of multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment.