Lung Carcinoma Presenting as a Superior Vena Cava Syndrome, Burnt and Twice Reborn as Adrenal and Facial Tumors

Abstract

Eighty-five percent of all lung cancers are Non-Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma (NSCLC) with common sites of metastasis to the adrenal glands and liver. Onset is insidious, and seventy-five percent of patients have either regional or distant metastases at initial presentation. The five-year relative survival rate is four and a half percent with a distantly spread disease based on recent studies. Here we present a unique case of a ten-year survival with NSCLC initially presenting as a Superior Vena Cava Syndrome and reoccurring with adrenal gland, bone, and CNS lesions. The patient presented with SVC caused by lung cancer and underwent chemo and radiotherapy with complete response in 2010. Five years later, the same cancer returned disguised as an adrenal tumor. In 2017, the patient came in with facial neuropathy, shooting pains, sinus headaches, eyelid concerns, and active tumoral activity was detected in the middle cranial fossa, involving parotid glands and the vertebral column. Craniotomy revealed a metastatic poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma that extended through foramen ovale and rotundum to the infratemporal fossa and caused left-sided facial paralysis, hearing loss and numbness in CN V2 - V3 distribution. Considering that the patient has experienced several recurrences of disease on standard protocols and is not a candidate for targeted molecular therapies, an immunotherapy trial was suggested as the next step. The natural history of this disease is remarkable in terms of metastatic sites, paraneoplastic manifestations, and a substantially prolonged lifespan. Thus, more studies of similar cases will advance our understanding of tumor genetics and immunotherapy allowing the greater benefit to future patients.