Synchronous cancer of squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and lymphocytic leukemia (B-cell type): a case report

Abstract

The patient was an 82-year-old male who consulted us over a lymph node enlargement in the right side of his neck. The WBC was 23,700/microliters (lymphocytes 80%), and a diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was given based on the findings of a bone marrow puncture and lymph node biopsy. During the observation period, abnormal shadows accompanied by cavitation appeared in the right lower lung field, and CT-guided percutaneous biopsy findings indicated a squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. No metastatic lesions were noted. No aggressive surgical or internal treatments were performed in consideration of the patient's age. The patient was admitted again and died of respiratory failure due to lung carcinoma. Reports of CLL and other malignant tumors arising in one patient are rare in Japan, and those of their occurring concurrently are even rarer. In the present report, a case of synchronous cancer of squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and CLL is described, together with a review of the literature.