An Unusual Presentation of Merkel Cell Carcinoma

We describe a 71-year-old male patient admitted to the hospital with posterior chest pain. Following the detection of a paravetebral mass at the level of the 2nd thoracic vertebra, the patient underwent a surgical en bloc resection of the mass. The histopathologic examination revealed a Merkel cell carcinoma. One month after the operation, magnetic resonance imaging showed an inoperable mass in the same location, which indicated a rapid progression of the tumor. The patient died of progressive respiratory failure due to pneumonia on the 6th day after the onset of radiochemotherapy. Although this appears to be an isolated case, Merkel cell carcinoma must be included in the differential diagnosis of intrathoracic masses. Turkish Baslik: Merkel Hucreli Karsinomun Nadir Bir Presentasyonu Anahtar Kelimeler: Merkel hucreli karsinom, intratorasik, ekstrakutanoz Yetmisbir yasindaki erkek hastanin sirt agrisi sikayetiyle hastaneye basvurusu sonrasinda yapilan tetkiklerinde sol paravertebral alan ikinci vertebra duzeyinde kitle tespit edilmis ve kitlenin en blok rezeksiyonu sonrasinda histopatolojik olarak Merkel hucreli karsinom tanisi konmustur. Postoperatif birinci ayinda manyetik rezonans incelemede ayni alanda tespit edilen ve inoperabl olarak degerlendirilen kitle hastaligin hizli ilerledigini dusundurdu. Hasta radyokemoterapinin 6. gununde pnomoni sonucunda ortaya cikan solunum yetersizligi nedeniyle hayatini kaybetti. Bu cok nadir gorulebilecek bir olgu olmakla birlikte, intratorasik kitlelerin ayirici tanisinda Merkel hucreli karsinom da dusunulmelidir.