2016 Volume 56 Issue 5 Pages 349-354
Background. Small cell lung cancer arises in the central airway and exhibits a poor prognosis. We herein report a case of small cell lung cancer mainly composed of pleural thickening that caused acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia after amrubicin treatment. Case. A 62-year-old man was diagnosed with interstitial pneumonia in 2009. He was admitted to our hospital due to a fever and cough from February 2014, and a chest X-ray showed pleural thickening of the left upper lung. After CT-guided lung biopsy, small cell cancer was diagnosed. The patient received chemotherapy, consisting of six cycles of cisplatin and etoposide. After showing a partial response to the treatment, the patient was followed up as an outpatient. He developed a fever at the beginning of the October 2014, and a chest X-ray revealed local recurrence. The patient received second-line chemotherapy with amrubicin. However, he developed a fever in the middle of October 2014, and computed tomography of the chest showed acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia due to amrubicin. The patient was treated with steroid pulse therapy, and his condition improved. However, the small cell lung cancer progressed rapidly, and the patient eventually died. Conclusion. Small cell lung cancer which rapidly progresses through the pleura has a poor prognosis. Cases such as the present of small cell lung cancer with interstitial pneumonia should be carefully treated by chemotherapy due to the possibility of its acute exacerbation.
