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Published on: August 14, 2021
Pancoast tumors: characteristics and preoperative assessment
Nikolaos Panagopoulos1, Vasilios Leivaditis1, Efstratios Koletsis1
11 Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Patras University School of Medicine, 2 Department of Thoracic Surgery, Metaxa Cancer Hospital, Piraeus Greece ; 3 Cardiothoracic Surgery Department, "Saint Luke" Private Clinic of Health Excellence, Thessaloniki, Panorama, Greece ; 4 Pulmonary Department-Oncology Unit, "G. Papanikolaou" General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece ; 5 Surgery Department (NHS), University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Alexandroupolis, Greece ; 6 Internal Medicine Department, "Theagenio" Cancer Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece ; 7 Oncology Department, "Saint Luke" Private Clinic of Health Excellence, Thessaloniki, Panorama, Greece ; 8 Cardiothoracic Surgery Department, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece ; 9 Cardiothoracic Surgery Department, "G. Papanikolaou" General Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Abstract:
Superior sulcus tumors (SSTs), or as otherwise known Pancoast tumors, make up a clinically unique and challenging subset of non-small cell carcinoma of the lung (NSCLC). Although the outcome of patients with this disease has traditionally been poor, recent developments have contributed to a significant improvement in prognosis of SST patients. The combination of severe and unrelenting shoulder and arm pain along the distribution of the eighth cervical and first and second thoracic nerve trunks, Horner's syndrome (ptosis, miosis, and anhidrosis) and atrophy of the intrinsic hand muscles comprises a clinical entity named as "Pancoast-Tobias syndrome". Apart NSCLC, other lesions may, although less frequently, result in Pancoast syndrome. In the current review we will present the main characteristics of the disease and focus on the preoperative assessment.
