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Vol.55 No.1 contents | Japanese/English |
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- Case Report -
A Case of Squamous Cell Lung Cancer Associated with Paraneoplastic Neurological Syndrome
Takuma Kanzaki1, Yasuhiro Yoshii1, Kazuma Sekine1, Naoko Harada1, Kohichi Shimizu2, Naoki Miyao11Department of Internal Medicine, 2Department of Pathology, Nippon Kokan Hospital, Japan
Background. Paraneoplastic neurological syndrome (PNS) is mostly associated with small cell lung cancer and rarely associated with squamous cell lung cancer. We experienced a rare case of PNS with squamous cell lung cancer. Case. A 60-year-old male visited the neurological department in January 2011 due to numbness in the hands and feet. Since he was found to have lung cancer, he was suspected of having PNS and subsequently referred to our hospital for chemotherapy and a neurological evaluation. Histopathological studies revealed squamous cell lung cancer. Although the size of the tumor decreased after two courses of chemotherapy with docetaxel and carboplatin, the patient developed pneumonia before the third course of chemotherapy. Since the neurological symptoms worsened, as the tumor was growing, and an anti-Hu antibody test turned positive, he was treated with seven courses of plasmapheresis. Despite this therapy, the neurological symptoms did not improve, and he died due to progression of lung cancer. An autopsy revealed demyelination of the posterior funiculus and neuronal loss in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Conclusions. Although rare, squamous cell lung cancer may cause PNS. In cases with a possibility of PNS, it is necessary to diagnose the disease precisely and start anti-cancer treatment and immunotherapy as soon as possible.
key words: Paraneoplastic neurological syndrome, Squamous cell lung cancer, Plasmapheresis
Received: September 17, 2014
Accepted: January 26, 2015
JJLC 55 (1): 36-41, 2015
