A case report of right upper lung adenosquamous carcinoma resection following neoadjuvant targeted therapy

The patient was a middle-aged male smoker who had space-occupying lesions in the right upper lung, Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) suggested right upper lung cancer with multiple mediastinal lymph node metastases. Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial lung biopsy (EBUS-GS-TBLB) performed in the bronchus of the right apical segment confirmed the lesion as squamous cell carcinoma. Neoadjuvant therapy was planned. Because genetic testing revealed the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) L858R mutation, the possibility of adenosquamous carcinoma was considered. The patient was clinically diagnosed with right upper lung squamous cell carcinoma c-T3N2M0, stage IIIB, and PS 1 point. Dacomitinib was selected for the targeted therapy. Eight weeks after the initiation of treatment, efficacy was assessed as a partial response (PR), suggesting a possibility of R0 resection. After sufficient communication with the patient and his family members, on July 1, 2020, thoracoscopic radical resection of the right upper lung cancer was performed under general anesthesia. Postoperative pathology confirmed adenosquamous carcinoma, of which 80% were adenocarcinoma and 20% were squamous cell carcinoma; no tumor thrombus was seen in the interstitial vessels; and the tumor did not invade the visceral pleura. There was no cancerous infiltration in the bronchial stump of the right upper lung. The following were the results for lymph nodes submitted for examination: L2 (0/1), L4 (0/4), L7 (0/3), L8 (0/7), L10 (0/1), L11 (0/2) and L11 (frozen 0/1) showed no cancer metastasis. The postoperative diagnosis was as follows: adenosquamous carcinoma of the right upper lung p-T2N0M0, stage Ib. After surgery, 4 cycles of the GC (gemcitabine + carboplatin) chemotherapy regimen were given, with continued targeted therapy recommended for 2 years. The patient has been followed-up and is in good condition.