title: Metastasis to the right stellate ganglion and vagal nerve: pathological alterations causing sudden death. A case report.
abstract: Sudden death in a 66-year-old woman with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity and exclusive metastatic involvement of the right stellate ganglion and right nerve vagus is reported. The patient also suffered from paroxysmal atrial fibrillation treated with quinidine. An autopsy showed exclusive metastases to the right stellate ganglion and vagus nerve, along with decreased nerve fibre density in the ventricular myocardium suggesting that Wallerian axon degeneration of cardiac fibres was responsible for sudden death.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, European Institute of Oncology, G. Ripamonti 435, 20141 Milan, Italy. fausto.maffini@ieo.it
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Maffini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pruneri
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Colombo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ansarin
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grosso
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bruschini
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Calabrese
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chiesa
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cipolla
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pelosi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Viale
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000150:complications* / Q000556:secondary*; D003390:Cranial Nerve Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000556:secondary*; D003645:Death, Sudden / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D010524:Peripheral Nervous System Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000556:secondary*; D013233:Stellate Ganglion; D014630:Vagus Nerve
keywords: Head and neck pathology; Squamous cell carcinoma; Stellate ganglion; Sudden death