Erlotinib-Related Spontaneous Pneumothorax in Patient with Primary Lung Cancer.

Nam, Hae Seong; Lee, Hyeon Jeong; Kim, Min Su; Park, Sung Wook; Jeon, Sang Hoon; Cho, Jae Hwa; Kwak, Seung Min; Lee, Hong Lyeol; Ryu, Jeong Seon

doi:2010.69.6.465

Tuberc Respir Dis > Volume 69(6); 2010 > Article

Case Report

Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2010;69(6):465-468.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2010.69.6.465 Published online December 1, 2010.

Erlotinib-Related Spontaneous Pneumothorax in Patient with Primary Lung Cancer.

Hae Seong Nam, Hyeon Jeong Lee, Min Su Kim, Sung Wook Park, Sang Hoon Jeon, Jae Hwa Cho, Seung Min Kwak, Hong Lyeol Lee, Jeong Seon Ryu

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Inha University Hospital, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea. jsryu@inha.ac.kr

Abstract

Spontaneous pneumothorax (SPTx) associated with primary lung cancer is quite rare, but has been reported as the initial presentation or a complication of disease progression. Moreover, chemotherapy-related SPTx in primary lung cancer occurs at a very low frequency, accounting for less than 0.05% of all cases. Here, we report the first case of erlotinib-related SPTx in a patient with advanced lung adenocarcinoma in Korea. After 3 cycles of cisplatin-based chemotherapy as first-line therapy, erlotinib was administered as second-line treatment. Asymptomatic SPTx accompanied by a significant decrease in tumor size was observed in the left lung 7 weeks later. The patient received continuous administration of erlotinib, without additional treatment. This case showed that SPTx can occur in patients with primary lung cancer receiving erlotinib, and asymptomatic chemotherapy-related SPTx in primary lung cancer may not require therapeutic intervention.

Key Words: Pneumothorax, Lung neoplasm, erlotinib