Lung cancer and concurrent or sequential lymphoma: Two case reports with hypersensitivity to bevacizumab and a review of the literature

Oncol Lett. 2015 Feb;9(2):604-608. doi: 10.3892/ol.2014.2717. Epub 2014 Nov 20.

Abstract

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for ~80% of all cases of lung cancer, and is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. The majority of NSCLC cases of are diagnosed at an advanced stage. The outcome of patients with advanced NSCLC is poor with a median survival time of ~12 months in European and American populations. Lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs) represent a heterogeneous group of expanding lymphoid cells, which occurs as a result of immune dysfunction. LPDs are often associated with primary solid cancers. We report two cases of LPD diagnosed concurrently and successively to NSCLC. The first case presents a 65-year-old female patient with advanced IV stage lung cancer, according to the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer TNM staging system. The patient developed a concurrent lymphoma and was treated with first-line therapy including six cycles of gemcitabine and cisplatin, however, the patient experienced an adverse drug reaction to bevacizumab, which was administered after gemcitabine and prior to cisplatin. The second case presented a 74-year-old male patient diagnosed with large B cell lymphoma. The patient acheived remission of the illness, however, after one year the patient was diagnosed with squamous cell lung cancer. After three years, the patient underwent surgery, however disease recurrence was identified. Subsequently, the patient was treated with sterotactic radiotherapy and oral chemotherapy. A review of the associated literature was also conducted.

Keywords: concurrent lymphoma; hypersensitivity to bevacizumab; lung cancer; sequential lymphoma.