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Vol.58 No.2 contents | Japanese/English |
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- Case Report -
Postoperative Recurrence of Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK)-positive Lung Adenocarcinoma After 11 Years
Taisuke Isono1, Mizuki Yuasa1, Mayuko Tani1, Koji Kurokawa1, Masaru Nishitsuji1, Koichi Nishi11Department of Respiratory Medicine, Ishikawa Prefectural Central Hospital, Japan
Background. The prognosis among patients with non-small cell lung cancer who remain recurrence-free for 5 years after surgery is considered to be good; however, there are some reports about the recurrence of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive lung adenocarcinoma after a long disease-free interval. Case. A 45-year-old man underwent right upper lobectomy for a Stage IA (pT1N0M0) lung adenocarcinoma. After a disease-free period of 11 years, he complained of hemoptysis. Chest computed tomography revealed a mass in the resected margin and right pleural effusion. Immunohistochemical staining of a bronchoscopic biopsy specimen revealed ALK-positive adenocarcinoma in the margin of the resected tumor. Furthermore, ALK rearrangement was detected in the previous adenocarcinoma tissue of the right upper lobe. Based on these findings, the tumor in the resected margin was considered to be recurrence after a long period. The patient showed a good response to Alectinib treatment. Conclusion. Long-term postoperative follow-up may be required for ALK-positive lung adenocarcinoma patients.
key words: Adenocarcinoma, Lung cancer, ALK, Late recurrence
Received: December 6, 2017
Accepted: January 9, 2018
JJLC 58 (2): 99-104, 2018
