Lung cancer as a complication of prolonged survival in patients with lymphoma

As a result of successful therapy with radiation, chemotherapy, or both, patients with lymphoma are living longer. The improved survival has led to an increased awareness of long term complications including second or subsequent malignancies. We have recently seen six cases of lung cancer--three adenocarcinomas, one squamous cell carcinoma, and two small cell carcinomas--among 655 patients with Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma suggesting a possible association, although other carcinogenic or cocarcinogenic factors cannot be eliminated.