Metachronous lung cancer in a patient after successfully treated small cell lung cancer

Abstract

It is known that the risk of developing a second primary respiratory or digestive tract tumor is high in treated small cell lung cancers. This study aimed to present a patient with metachronous small cell and non-small cell lung cancer. Thirteen years before, the 78-year-old male patient received chemotherapy and radiotherapy due to limited-stage small cell cancer in the right lung. In the 6th year of the follow-up, he underwent right upper lobectomy due to lung epidermoid carcinoma, stage 2B. Over the 7 years following lobectomy, he had been followed without any problems. In small cell lung cancer patients with a survival of more than 2 years, the risk of developing a second primary non-small cell lung cancer is 7-16 times higher compared to those who smoke but do not have cancer. Patients should be followed closely so that a possible metachronous tumor can be detected in the early stages.© 2012 Association of Oncology.