Triple synchronous primary lung cancer: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract Background Multiple primary lung cancer may present in synchronous or metachronous form. Synchronous multiple primary lung cancer is defined as multiple lung lesions that develop at the same time, whereas metachronous multiple primary lung cancer describes multiple lung lesions that develop at different times, typically following treatment of the primary lung cancer. Patients with previously treated lung cancer are at risk for developing metachronous lung cancer, but with the success of computed tomography and positron emission tomography, the ability to detect both synchronous and metachronous lung cancer has increased. Case presentation We present a case of a 63-year-old Hispanic man who came to our hospital for evaluation of chest pain, dry cough, and weight loss. He had recently been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma in the right upper lobe, with a poorly differentiated carcinoma favoring squamous cell cancer based on bronchoalveolar lavage of the right lower lobe for which treatment was started. Later, bronchoscopy incidentally revealed the patient to have an endobronchial lesion that turned out to be mixed small and large cell neuroendocrine lung cancer. Our patient had triple synchronous primary lung cancers that histologically were variant primary cancers. Conclusions Triple synchronous primary lung cancer management continues to be a challenge. Our patient’s case suggests that multiple primary lung cancers may still occur at a greater rate than can be detected by high-resolution computed tomography

Cervical Spinal Cord Compression: A Rare Presentation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary malignancy of liver. Distant metastasis to various organs is well known. Skeletal metastasis is also reported to various locations. Vertebral metastasis has been reported mostly to thoracic spine. However, cervical spinal cord involvement leading to cord compression has been reported very rarely in literature. We present a case of 58-year-old male with liver cirrhosis presenting as neck pain. Further work-up revealed metastatic HCC to cervical spinal cord resulting in acute cord compression. Patient has been treated with neurosurgical intervention