Histological Transformation to Large Cell Neuroendocrine Carcinoma from Lung Adenocarcinoma Harboring an EGFR Mutation: An Autopsy Case Report

Abstract

We herein report a 58-year-old Japanese woman who survived 14 years after surgery for lung adenocarcinoma harboring an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletion. She developed recurrence, for which she underwent multimodal therapy, including EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) administration. She ultimately died from a rapidly progressive right lung tumor that was resistant to EGFR-TKI. According to the autopsy findings, she had combined large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) and adenocarcinoma in the right lung, which retained an EGFR exon 19 deletion in both components. Therefore, the histological transformation to LCNEC can be a mechanism of acquired EGFR-TKI resistance.