Vanished: Is This for Real?
Spontaneous regression (SR) of lung cancer is especially rare. We report a case of an early endobronchial squamous cell carcinoma that exhibited complete radiologic and pathologic SR soon after diagnosis. The patient was monitored radiologically and bronchoscopically at regular intervals and to date, the biopsy samples have been negative. Remarkably, SR has been maintained 6 years after diagnosis, without local recurrence or distant metastases. Many hypotheses abound to explain how complete SR was achieved and maintained despite the lack of treatment.
*Department of Chest Surgery, St Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan †Division of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, University Medicine Cluster, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
Adrian
A
Kee
Noriaki
N
Kurimoto
Haruhiko
H
Nakamura
D000368:Aged; D001999:Bronchoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D019160:Endosonography / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous