Intramedullary spinal cord metastases from atypical small cell lung cancer: a case report and literature review.
Intramedullary spinal cord metastases (ISCM) are usually the result of rapidly progressing systemic malignancy. Lung cancer represents the most common solid tumor associated with the development of ISCM. We describe a 47-year-old female with atypical small cell lung cancer (SCLC) developing ISCM. After a thoracoscopic biopsy she was treated with combination chemotherapy consolidated by mediastinal radiotherapy leading to complete remission. Three months later, she developed a Brown-Sequard syndrome and an MRI scan revealed ISCM at the T10-T12 levels, and secondary brain lesions. Despite treatment with steroids and thoracic spine/brain radiotherapy, no recovery of her motor function was seen and she died 4 months later due to progressive disease in the CNS. The present case, adds to the existing list of ISCM cases reported so far for lung cancer, undermine the ominous prognosis and limited treatment options available, and an extensive literature overview and discussion of similar cases is provided.
Nikolaou
Maria
M
Department of Medicine, Second Division of Medical Oncology, Metaxa Cancer Hospital, Piraeus, Greece.
Koumpou
Maria
M
Mylonakis
Nicolaos
N
Karabelis
Athanasios
A
Pectasides
Dimitris
D
Kosmas
Christos
C
D018437:Brown-Sequard Syndrome / Q000209:etiology; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary* / Q000628:therapy