[Bilateral lung masses: the same aetiology?]

The authors describe the case of a 50 year old woman, smoker, healthy until September 2003 when she presented persistent dry cough, fatigue and weight loss. Chest x-ray showed two lung masses, one in the superior right lobe and the other in the lingula lobe of the left lung. The patient underwent TFNA (transthoracic fine needle aspiration) and the cytological result was compatible with small cell lung cancer. Staging procedures identified hepatic lesions, probably secondary. Presence of hepatic metastasis and contralateral lung lesions defined the stage of the disease as disseminate. Chemotherapy with carboplatin and etoposide was started. Six months later the right lesion had decreased but the left lesion had increased. TFNA of this lesion revealed adenocarcinoma. A new treatment was started with vinorelbine and gemcitabine. After four cycles of chemotherapy without any response patient underwent radiotherapy of the left lesion. After 28 months of follow up the patient was asymptomatic and able to manage her normal daily routine. Multiple lung cancers can be considered as synchronous or metachronous, depending on the time of diagnosis. Metachronous lesions are the most frequent (50-70% of all cases) and adenocarcinoma the more frequent histological pattern. In this case the disease was at a disseminate stage, which did not suggest a synchronous lung tumour. While the disease was at an advanced stage with poor prognosis at diagnosis, the evolution of the two different lung tumours did not seem to compromise patient's daily routine.