[Systemic tumor emboli from primary bronchogenic carcinoma]

A 59-year-old man underwent left pneumonectomy for bronchogenic carcinoma. During operation, his right arm pulse became suddenly unmeasurable. He was unconscious after operation and brain CT scan revealed cerebral infarction of the left hemisphere. Histopathological examination of the resected specimen showed a large cell carcinoma. Massive invasion into the inferior pulmonary vein of malignant tissue was recognized without nodal involvement. Twenty-six cases including ours in which systemic tumor emboli arise from primary bronchogenic carcinoma were reviewed. In 19 of these cases, tumor emboli occurred during or after pulmonary operation and in 7 cases spontaneously. The most common features of these cases were large tumor mass and poorly differentiated structures.