A Rare Non-smoking-Related Spindle Cell Carcinoma of the Lung: A Case Report

TL;DR

A 30-year-old non-smoker with no known risk factors was diagnosed with a rare lung cancer called spindle cell carcinoma, highlighting the challenges in diagnosing and treating this condition.

Contribution

This case report presents a rare instance of non-smoking-related spindle cell carcinoma of the lung in a young patient with neurofibromatosis type 1.

Findings

The patient had negative results for typical cancer markers, confirming a rare diagnosis of spindle cell carcinoma.

The patient survived over six months with chemotherapy, despite the poor prognosis typically associated with this cancer type.

Abstract

This paper introduces the case of a 30-year-old female diagnosed with pulmonary spindle-cell carcinoma (PSCC), a rare non-small cell lung carcinoma, with no history of tobacco use or any other known risk factors. The patient, with a diagnosis of neurofibromatosis type 1, showed symptoms of night fevers, thoracic pains, and massive pleural effusion, which led to a series of diagnostic studies, including imaging studies, biopsies, and immunohistochemistry analyses. The results from the pulmonary biopsy were used to make the definitive diagnosis of PSCC with negative results for the typical markers for this type of cancer. Following the diagnosis, the patient started a chemotherapy regimen consisting of doxorubicin and ifosfamide, with which she has survived for more than six months, despite the poor prognosis associated with PSCC. This case report highlights the rarity of this histological subtype, the difficulty in its diagnosis and management, the importance of completing a comprehensive diagnostic approach, and the need for further studies to improve the prognosis of these patients.

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