Pancoast syndrome due to metastatic carcinoma from the uterine cervix

Pancoast syndrome: A rare presentation of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Pancoast syndrome is a common presentation of bronchogenic carcinoma, but other malignancies are rarely cited as its cause. Pancoast syndrome due to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is rarely described in the literature. Here, we report a case of Pancoast syndrome due to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma to increase the awareness of the clinicians regarding essentiality of tissue diagnosis of Pancoast tumor before starting the treatment.

Pancoast syndrome caused by a high grade B cell lymphoma

The case history is presented of a 20 year old man with Pancoast syndrome caused by a high grade B cell lymphoma.

Pancoast's syndrome due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection of the lung apex

A case of Pancoast's syndrome was caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection of the lung apex. The infection extended to extrapleural structures of the thoracic inlet.

Pancoast syndrome in a patient with malignant lymphoma

Pancoast syndrome is usually secondary to lung cancer. We report a patient with Pancoast syndrome in whom a biopsy specimen of a cervical mass at first thought to be anaplastic carcinoma was found to stain positively for leukocyte common antigen and negatively for keratin, epithelial membrane antigen, and alpha-fetoprotein. A diagnosis of malignant lymphoma associated with Pancoast syndrome was made, and a salutary response was observed after combination chemotherapy. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of Pancoast syndrome associated with malignant lymphoma. We emphasize the importance of using immunohistochemical stains to define the pathologic condition in difficult cases.

Pancoast syndrome caused by extramedullary plasmacytoma

A 61-year-old patient had the clinical findings of Pancoast syndrome with shoulder pain, weakness and atrophy of band muscles, and an opacified area in the apical lung field. Unlike most cases with Pancoast syndrome in which the tumors are primary carcinomas of the lung, the present case was shown to have a plasmacytoma involving the apical parietal pleura and the adjacent chest wall. The need for histologic diagnosis before treating patients with Pancoast syndrome is emphasized.

Pancoast's syndrome and small cell lung cancer

Four patients with small cell lung cancer (SCC) presenting with Pancoast's syndrome are described. Superior sulcus tumors are usually caused by epidermoid carcinoma or adenocarcinoma of the lung, and are routinely treated with radiotherapy followed by radical surgery. SCC, on the other hand, is widely disseminated at diagnosis and is best treated with chemotherapy. Although not previously reported as a cause of Pancoast's tumor, these four cases of SCC presenting as such clearly indicate the need for pretreatment histologic diagnosis to avoid unnecessary surgical intervention. Transcutaneous needle aspiration biopsy is a means by which the diagnosis can be safely made in patients presenting with apical lung tumors.