[Metachronous bronchial carcinoma--three years after right upper lobectomy. A case report]

The emergence of a secondary pulmonary neoplasm at some time after the primary one raises diagnostic and therapeutic issues especially in patients with functional respiratory capacities at the limits of resectability. We present the case of a 53 years old patient which suffered a right upper lobectomy three years before for a moderately differentiated squamous carcinoma and in which a second cancer was discovered in the right main bronchus. Para-clinic explorations demonstrated the lack of local and systemic invasion of the second cancer. The optimal therapeutic way is presented and its result, discussing also the means for long term follow-up of the patients operated for non-small cell lung cancer.