2024 Volume 64 Issue 4 Pages 310-314
Background. Spontaneous regression of cancer is rare, but there are a few reports of regression following infection or biopsy. The authors of the case reports assumed a connection between spontaneous regression and immunological mechanisms. Case. An 88-year-old woman presented to our hospital with the chief complaint of chest pain. CT revealed a mass measuring 5.5 cm with pleural infiltration in the right upper lobe of the lung, as well as swelling in the right hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes. Transbronchial lung biopsy was performed, but no definitive diagnosis was made. CT-guided needle biopsy (CTNB) was performed and led to a diagnosis of non-small cell lung carcinoma (favoring squamous cell carcinoma). Due to her advanced age, the patient chose the best supportive care. At two month after the diagnosis, an X-ray showed that the tumor had begun to shrink. At six months after the diagnosis, CT also showed the tumor shrinking, but swelling of the left supraclavicular lymph nodes was observed. At eleven months after diagnosis, CT showed further shrinkage of the tumor and the nearby lymph nodes. It also showed that the left supraclavicular lymph node swelling had disappeared. Fifteen months after diagnosis, an X-ray revealed no recurrence and the chest pain had disappeared. The pathological examination of the CTNB specimen revealed CD8+and CD4+T cells infiltrating in areas around the tumor. Some tumor cells showed apoptosis. Conclusion. We experienced a case of spontaneous regression of non-small cell lung carcinoma in an elderly patient after a biopsy. This case suggests that a biopsy may trigger an immune response that leads to spontaneous regression.
