A Cose of Amylase-producing Lung Cancer.

Abstract

A case of lung cancer with hyperamylasemia was studied. Small cell carcinoma was diagnosed histologically. The salivary gland and pancreas had no clinical involvement in the hyperamylasemia. Saliva-type amylase was dominant as observed from amylase isozyme patterns in the serum and tumorous tissue. Levels of amylase were higher in tumorous tissue than in normal lung tissue. Immunohistochemical study showed amylase localized in tumor cells. Observation of the ultrastructure revealed electron-dense granules in the cytoplasm of the tumor cells. Findings suggested that amylase was being produced by the lung cancer in this case.

Hyperamylasaemia and dual paraneoplastic syndromes in small cell lung cancer

“…In every reported case of hyperamylasaemia in lung cancer patients, the a-amylase present in the serum or in the tumour tissue has been described as of the salivary amylase type. 14,16,20 In our case report, strong evidence indicates hyperamylasaemia as a paraneoplastic phenomenon. Firstly, the marked salivary type hyperamylasaemia in the absence of inflammatory conditions of both the pancreas and salivary glands and secondly, the significant decrease of amylase values soon after the starting chemotherapy.…”

“…11,12 Amylase-producing tumours of the lung include primarily adenocarcinoma and secondly undifferentiated small-cell carcinoma, comprising in total 1 to 3% of all lung cancers. [13][14][15][16] Small-cell lung cancer originates from the Kulchitsky cell, a cell of neural crest, which is present beneath the epithelial lining cells of the lungs. These tumours are able to secrete polypeptide hormones and enzymes and bear antigenic markers of both the neural crest and epithelium.…”

Hyperamylasaemia: an unusual cause

“…Other less frequent causes are macroamylasaemia, following hepatic resections,2 and cardiopulmonary bypass,3 some cases of AIDS,4and rheumatoid arthritis 5. It has also been reported in association with various tumours, eg, phaeochromocytoma,6carcinoma of the lung,7 ovary, breast, and multiple myeloma 8. Adenocarcinoma of the kidney has been reported to produce amylase 9.…”

Sialyl Salivary–Type Amylase Associated with Ovarian Cancer

“…Studies of tumor-producing amylase originated with Weiss et al's 1951 report illustrating a case of bronchogenic carcinoma associated with elevated serum amylase levels [1]. Since then, many reports have focused on lung cancer-producing amylase [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11], and there have been similar reports in pancreatic [12], stomach [13], uterine [14], and ovarian cancers [15,16]. Moreover, there have been reports of non-epithelial amylase-producing osteosarcoma [17] and multiple myeloma [18][19][20].…”