[Clinical features of acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia associated with lung cancer after chemotherapy].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the incidence and characteristic clinical features of acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia( IP)associated with lung cancer after chemotherapy.


METHODS
With this aim, we retrospectively evaluated 41 cases of lung cancer associated with IP between January 2004 and December 2006.


RESULTS
Of 41 patients (male/ female ratio: 40/1, mean age: 71.0+/-7.0 years; non-small-cell lung cancer/small-cell lung cancer ratio: 30/11), 4 (9.8%) developed acute exacerbation of IP, and 3 died of respiratory failure. There were no differences between the acute exacerbation group and the non-exacerbation group with regard to the clinical features of IP and chemotherapy regimen. Moreover, 5 patients were not diagnosed with IP before chemotherapy.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that lung cancer patients should be carefully evaluated for preexisting IP and that careful informed decision-making regarding chemotherapy is crucial in cases of lung cancer associated with IP, because acute exacerbation of IP is relatively common, and difficult to predict in association with high mortality.
Sato
Kazuhiro
K
Dept. of Pulmonology, Nagaoka Japanese Red-Cross Hospital.
Shimaoka
Yuuichi
Y
Hayashi
Yoshiki
Y
Suzuki
Nobuaki
N
Ebe
Yuusuke
Y
D000368:Aged; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017563:Lung Diseases, Interstitial / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055752:Small Cell Lung Carcinoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology