Basaloid squamous-cell carcinoma of the lung in a young woman

We report a rare case of basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the lung in a young Japanese woman. An 18-year-old woman presented with productive cough. Chest radiogram and computed tomography (CT) revealed a tumor in the left hilum accompanied by partial atelectasis of the left upper lobe and pleural effusion. Transbronchial fine-needle aspiration cytology supported a tentative diagnosis of primary squamous-cell carcinoma of the lung. The clinical stage was T4N2M1, with multiple bone metastases. Despite a transient response to chemotherapy consisting of carboplatin and paclitaxel, the patient died because of tumor progression 2 months after the start of the chemotherapy. Necropsy established the diagnosis of basaloid squamous-cell carcinoma of the lung. Immunohistochemical studies of the necropsy specimen indicated that the tumor was positive for keratin, vimentin, and S100, and negative for chromogranin A, cytokeratin CAM5.2, and bcl-2. Besides the rarity of the disease itself, the present case seemed to have additional uniqueness in that the patient was 18 years old and female. This is the youngest patient with a case of basaloid squamous cell carcinoma of the lung ever reported.