Small cell lung cancer with paraneoplastic lipase production

Kulchitsky cells represent the cells of origin of small cell lung cancer (SCLC). They display an antigenic makeup characteristic of both the neural crest and epithelium and have been shown to secrete both polypeptide hormones and enzymes. The coexistence of two or more (concomitant or sequential) paraneoplastic endocrine syndromes is possible with SCLC, and paraneoplastic amylase production has also been described with this malignancy. We present here the first patient with an extensive stage SCLC, exhibiting a marked paraneoplastic lipase production and a syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) secretion. In our patient, the paraneoplastic hyperlipasemia paralleled both the initial SCLC response to chemotherapy and its subsequent clinicoradiological relapse.