Objective: We present a case report and systematic review of acute mastoiditis caused by metastatic lung cancer.
Case report: A 62-year-old woman developed acute mastoiditis as a complication of otitis media. Cortical mastoidectomy revealed deposits of metastatic non-small cell lung carcinoma around the sigmoid sinus. The patient had previously received treatment for lung cancer, but was thought to be in remission.
Discussion: A literature review confirmed that this is the first reported case of mastoiditis caused by metastatic lung cancer. Only four similar case reports were identified: two caused by breast carcinoma, one by renal cell carcinoma and one by cholangiocarcinoma. Post-mortem histopathological studies suggest that temporal bone metastasis occurs in 22 per cent of oncology cases.
Conclusion: This is the first reported case of mastoiditis caused by metastatic lung cancer. Metastasis to the temporal bone is not uncommon, but rarely causes mastoiditis.