31 hours ago An 82 year-old male was referred to us because of a nodule in the upper lobe of his right lung, which was incidentally found by computed tomography (CT) carried out in the course of … >> Go To The Portal
Spontaneous cancer regression, either partial or complete, is a rare phenomenon, particularly in patients with lung cancer. The present paper is the case report of an elderly lung cancer patient aged 80 who exhibited spontaneous regression of the primary lesion, without receiving any treatment.
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An 82 year-old male was referred to us because of a nodule in the upper lobe of his right lung, which was incidentally found by computed tomography (CT) carried out in the course of treating pneumonia. The nodule was identified as non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma of the lung by bronchoscopy.
10) Furukawa M, Oto T, Yamane M, Toyooka S, Miyoshi S: Spontaneous Regression of Primary Lung Cancer Arising From an Emphysematous Bulla. Ann Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2011; 17: 577-579.
13) Haruki T, Nakamura H, Taniguchi Y, Miwa K, Adachi Y, Fujioka S, et al.: Spontaneous Regression of Lung Adenocarcinoma: Report of a case. Surg Today 2010; 40: 1155-1158.
Spontaneous cancer regression is rare, and particularly rare for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The pathogenesis of spontaneous regressions is poorly understood, but of interest to many patients and providers. The infrequency of spontaneous regression makes it a challenging phenomenon to understand and study.
Spontaneous regression is defined as the complete or partial resolution of a malignant lesion without appropriate treatment [ 1 ], either permanently or temporarily. Spontaneous tumor regression is an extremely uncommon phenomenon occurring in fewer than one in one hundred thousand cancers [ 2 ].
A 73-year-old Caucasian man with a 50 pack-year smoking history and a history of low grade, non-invasive bladder cancer treated with intravesicular Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) presented with worsening shortness of breath and dyspnea on exertion. The patient had no known history of autoimmune disease.
Lung cancer is the second leading cause of cancer in both men and women in the United States. It is estimated that 200,00 new cases will arise in men and women in the United States accounting for 14% of new cancers5. Lung cancer accounts for 25% of cancer fatalities and has among the lowest survival rates [ 5 ].
Spontaneous regression of NSCLC is an uncommon occurrence. The underlying mechanism is poorly understood. Continued evaluation of patients with regressing NSCLC and a collection of samples could help in the understanding of its underlying mechanism.
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Consent was obtained by all participants in this study. IRB issued approval N/A. UCD IRB waives review and formal consent for single patient case reports
Lung cancer is currently the most common cause of cancer mortality worldwide. It accounted for 1.3 million deaths around the world (2.3% of all deaths) in 2004. 1 A direct link to tobacco use was noted in the 1950s by Doll and Hill and although tobacco use is decreasing, lung cancer remains a major public health issue. 2 It has one of the lowest survival outcomes of any cancer, with an overall 5-year survival of just 14%. Stage specific 5-year survival has been reported to be 42% for stage 1 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (15% of patients at diagnosis) decreasing to <5% in stage IV. Median survival of stage IIIB NSCLC is 8–13 months 3 and 5-year survival is between 3% and 7%. 4 Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for 25–30% of all lung cancers. 3
The authors report the case of an 84-year-old woman who presented with radiologically progressive, biopsy proven stage IIIB (T2N3) squamous cell carcinoma in the left lower lobe of the lung. Her disease was too advanced for curative treatment and in view of the lack of symptoms to palliate, she received no anticancer treatment.
In terms of hormonal mechanisms of spontaneous regression, recent studies have shown the presence of oestrogen receptors in some lung cancers, predominately adenocarcinomas, with one case report showing enlarging lung nodules after commencement of hormone-replacement therapy and subsequent regression 6 weeks after discontinuation. 12 13 The patient in our case did not begin hormone therapy for her co-existing breast cancer until 6 months after regression of her lung cancer was first seen radiologically, so this is not a likely explanation for the regression of her cancer.
Spontaneous regression of cancer is a rare event in general, with incidence estimated to be <0.001% and less than 10 such cases of advanced NSCLC have been reported in the past 60 years. 5 6 We present a rare and interesting case of a patient with stage IIIB biopsy proven squamous cell lung cancer whose tumour has spontaneously regressed with no active medical or surgical treatment.