Spontaneous regression in advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Abstract

Correspondence to Adam Gladwish, adam.gladwish@utoronto.ca SUMMARY Locally advanced lung cancer, if untreated, typically progresses although the rapidity of progression may vary. The authors report the case of an 84-year-old woman who presented with radiologically progressive, biopsy proven stage IIIB (T2N3) squamous cell carcinoma in the left lower lobe of the lung. Her disease was too advanced for curative treatment and in view of the lack of symptoms to palliate, she received no anticancer treatment. In follow-up, her tumour was noted to spontaneously regress in size on serial chest x-rays. Eight months after biopsy, restaging CT showed complete resolution of the enlarged biopsy proven mediastinal and hilar lymph nodes and signifi cant regression of the primary tumour. She remains clinically well.

Focus on Nivolumab in NSCLC

“…Furthermore, activated T cells produce an altered form of interferon gamma (IFNγ) with a reduced skill to inhibit fibroblasts proliferation (1). Moreover, spontaneous tumor regressions, not only in cutaneous melanoma (2) but also in lung cancer (3), have been described and confirm the involvement of immune system in cancer control.…”

Spontaneous regression in advanced squamous cell lung carcinoma

“…There are some proposals about the mechanisms of SR of cancer, differentiation, apoptosis, immunological and cytokine mechanisms, hormonal mechanisms, and angiogenesis inhibition might induce SR of cancer (2,7). In this case, there was no suspected reason except he had ate Korean ginseng from 4 months after diagnosis.…”

Spontaneous Regression of FDG/PET Positive Lung Adenocarcinoma in an Elderly Man

“…The precise mechanism of spontaneous regression remains unclear and future studies are required to elucidate this process. Although very rare, there have been six case reports which showed spontaneous regression in lung cancer patients over the age of 70 [3,[5][6][7][8][9]. The eldest one was a 84-year-old female NSCLC patient [7].…”

“…Although spontaneous regression has been reported in various malignant diseases [2]. Despite its incidence in a variety of malignant disorders, spontaneous regression in lung cancer is considered to be a particularly rare event [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10].…”