Efficacy of Mediastinoscopy for the Diagnosis of Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Case Report

Abstract

We report a case of small cell lung cancer with metastasis without any lesion in the lungs. The patient was 55-year-old man who visited to the hospital with dizziness. He underwent general examinations and enhanced-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head revealed that a lesion with ring enhancement sign in the cerebellum. Despite the fact that no lesions were detected in his lungs in chest computed tomography (CT), mediastinal lymph node enlargement and elevated levels of ProGRP in serum indicated an unknown primary small cell lung cancer and its brain metastasis. A biopsy of No. 3 lymph node performed by mediastinoscopy revealed small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). The patient was treated with chemotherapy after the diagnosis, and although the treatment was effective temporarily, the patient died 18 months after the diagnosis.