Palliative sequential chemoradiotherapy for pulmonary sulcus tumor: A case report

Abstract

Pulmonary sulcus tumors are occasionally encountered in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. If the patients have a good clinical condition, concurrent chemoradiotherapy is indicated. However, palliative chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy for patients exhibiting a poor overall condition have not been reported to date. We herein report the case of a 54-year-old female patient with a pulmonary sulcus tumor, who had a poor performance status. The patient received sequential chemoradiotherapy, with no severe complications. There was no local recurrence until the time of death, 8 months after the initiation of therapy. Palliative sequential chemoradiotherapy for pulmonary sulcus NSCLC must be effective and carry low risk of complications. Palliative sequential chemoradiotherapy may be considered in certain patients with pulmonary sulcus NSCLC. Either chemotherapy or radiotherapy is administered first and, if there is no apparent deterioration of the patient's general condition, the next treatment modality is administered.

Keywords: pulmonary sulcus tumor; sequential chemoradiotherapy.

Figure 1.

(A) Coronal and (B) axial view of the computed tomography scan showing a pulmonary sulcus tumor in the right lung, with direct invasion of the ribs (arrows) and thoracic spine (arrowhead).