Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2024 Jun 5;16(6):e61717.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.61717. eCollection 2024 Jun.

A Superior Squeeze: Superior Vena Cava Syndrome Secondary to Small Cell Lung Cancer

Anvit D Reddy  1 , Oshin Rai  1 , Natalie Shaykh  1 , Falguni Patel  1 , Niyati Patel  1 , Ghania Masri  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A Superior Squeeze: Superior Vena Cava Syndrome Secondary to Small Cell Lung Cancer

Anvit D Reddy et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome is an uncommon yet potentially fatal syndrome occurring after intrinsic or extrinsic compression to the SVC. While there are multiple emerging etiologies for this phenomenon, malignancy remains the most common. It is characterized by several symptoms including facial swelling, extremity swelling, shortness of breath, and headaches. We present the case of a 59-year-old female with a past medical history of cocaine abuse who was admitted for upper extremity swelling and facial edema. Imaging revealed a right suprahilar mass compressing a branch of the right pulmonary artery and SVC, in addition to bilateral segmental and subsegmental pulmonary emboli. She underwent an emergent biopsy and SVC stenting, with immunostaining revealing small cell lung cancer (SCLC). This case highlights a severe presentation of SVC syndrome caused by previously undetected SCLC.

Keywords: facial edema; interventional radiology stent placement; lung cancer; lung cancer surveillance; pulmonary embolism (pe); small-cell lung carcinoma; superior vena cava (svc) syndrome; tobacco adverse effects; venography; venoplasty.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Notable asymmetric facial edema, left more than right, as well as a saddle nose
Figure 2
Figure 2. Upper extremity edema, left more than right
Figure 3
Figure 3. Chest radiograph anterior-posterior view showing no evidence of pulmonary infiltrates, pleural effusions, or pneumothorax. The heart size is in the upper limits of normal with evidence of previous cardiac surgery. There is prominence of central pulmonary vessels
Figure 4
Figure 4. CTPA (axial view) showing severe narrowing of the SVC from compression by the right suprahilar mass
CTPA: computed tomography pulmonary angiography; SVC: superior vena cava
Figure 5
Figure 5. CTPA (coronal view) showing severe short segment narrowing of the SVC from compression by the right suprahilar mass
CTPA: computed tomography pulmonary angiography; SVC: superior vena cava
Figure 6
Figure 6. CTPA (axial view) showing subsegmental pulmonary emboli
CTPA: computed tomography pulmonary angiography
Figure 7
Figure 7. Venogram demonstrating SVC stenosis
SVC: superior vena cava
Figure 8
Figure 8. Venogram demonstrating the self-expandable Abre stent
Figure 9
Figure 9. Venogram demonstrating the in-stent venoplasty with balloon
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Seligson M, Surowiec S. StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022. Superior vena cava syndrome. - PubMed
    1. Superior vena cava syndrome. Azizi AH, Shafi I, Shah N, Rosenfield K, Schainfeld R, Sista A, Bashir R. JACC Cardiovasc Interv. 2020;13:2896–2910. - PubMed
    1. Superior vena cava syndrome with malignant causes. Wilson LD, Detterbeck FC, Yahalom J. N Engl J Med. 2007;356:1862–1869. - PubMed
    1. The superior vena cava syndrome: clinical characteristics and evolving etiology. Rice TW, Rodriguez RM, Light RW. Medicine (Baltimore) 2006;85:37–42. - PubMed
    1. Superior vena cava syndrome from extensive lung cancer. Prasad R, Kemnic T. J Osteopath Med. 2021;121:329–330. - PubMed

Publication types