Internal Medicine
Online ISSN : 1349-7235
Print ISSN : 0918-2918
ISSN-L : 0918-2918
CASE REPORTS
Small Cell Lung Cancer Complicated by Pulmonary Sarcoidosis
Hirokazu TokuyasuHiroki IzumiNatsuko MukaiKenichi TakedaYasuto SakaguchiNoritaka IsowaEiji Shimizu
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JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

2010 Volume 49 Issue 18 Pages 1997-2001

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Abstract

In July 2009, a 69-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because an abnormal chest shadow had been noted on medical examination. Chest radiography and computed tomography showed mediastinal and bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from the right B5 revealed an increased CD4/CD8 ratio. Histological examination of the biopsy specimens obtained from the tumor in the left upper bronchus revealed small cell lung cancer, whereas examination of the specimens obtained from the left B3 revealed noncaseating epithelioid cell granulomas containing giant cells, confirming the diagnosis of sarcoidosis. The patient underwent chemotherapy with carboplatin and etoposide without any steroids. After 4 courses of chemotherapy, bronchoscopic examination revealed that the tumor had shrunk, and the BALF CD4/CD8 ratio had decreased; further, no histological evidence of sarcoidosis was seen in specimens obtained from the left B3. Concomitant small cell lung cancer and sarcoidosis is rare. Interestingly, cancer chemotherapy might improve pulmonary sarcoidosis.

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© 2010 by The Japanese Society of Internal Medicine
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