A series of patients with unusual lung cancers with unusual presentations

Our plain-English summary of A series of patients with unusual lung cancers with unusual presentations, by D.M. Maphanga (African Journal of Thoracic and Critical Care Medicine, 2019).

The study

• Author: D.M. Maphanga
• Journal: African Journal of Thoracic and Critical Care Medicine
• Published: 2019;25(2)
• Type of article: Case report
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

Lung malignancies have become increasingly prevalent. Occasionally, an unusual tumour is diagnosed, or a common tumour type presents unusually. This case report reviews 3 cases of thoracic neoplasm, including two cases of uncommon cancers (primary lung adenoid cystic carcinoma and thoracic desmoplastic small round cell high-grade sarcoma) and an atypical presentation of malignant mesothelioma.

In plain English

This article was a case report of three patients with chest tumours, by a single author at the University of the Witwatersrand and Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa. It did not study or measure asbestos exposure. The first patient, a 56-year-old woman, had two months of right-sided chest pain and coughing up blood. Scans showed a mass filling nearly the whole right side of the chest with a small pleural effusion (fluid around the lung), and biopsies were in keeping with malignant mesothelioma. The author described this presentation as uncharacteristic: pulmonary mass lesions with no identifiable risk factors. The second patient, a 65-year-old man who did not smoke, had adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare lung cancer, partly blocking an airway, with a collection of pus in the left side of the chest. The third patient, a 53-year-old woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo, had a desmoplastic small round-cell high-grade sarcoma. All three had advanced disease and were referred for oncological assessment and palliative care. The author concluded that the series is a reminder of the wide spectrum of presentations of chest tumours.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Case report (series of 3 cases)
• Who was studied: Three patients with thoracic tumours, described by an author at the University of the Witwatersrand and Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa: a 56-year-old woman with malignant mesothelioma, a 65-year-old man with adenoid cystic carcinoma, and a 53-year-old woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo with desmoplastic small round-cell high-grade sarcoma. Dates are not given.
• Exposure: No exposure was studied. For the mesothelioma patient, the author reported no identifiable risk factors. Asbestos exposure is mentioned only in background discussion drawn from other studies.
• Main results:
  • Case 1: a 56-year-old woman had a 2-month history of right pleuritic chest pain and haemoptysis (coughing up blood).
  • Case 1: imaging showed a mass occupying nearly the whole right hemithorax with a small pleural effusion. Biopsies were in keeping with malignant mesothelioma.
  • Case 1: the author described the mesothelioma presentation as uncharacteristic, with pulmonary mass lesions and no identifiable risk factors.
  • Case 2: a 65-year-old non-smoking man had a tumour partly blocking the left upper-lobe bronchus. Biopsy confirmed adenoid cystic carcinoma.
  • Case 3: a 53-year-old woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo was diagnosed by biopsy with desmoplastic small round-cell high-grade sarcoma.
  • All 3 patients had advanced disease and were referred for oncological assessment and palliative care.
• The authors' conclusion: The author concluded that the series serves as a reminder of the wide spectrum of presentations of thoracic neoplasms.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Lung Cancer, Neoplasm, Carcinoma, Desmoplastic Mesothelioma, Sarcoma, Mesothelioma.

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