[Small cell bronchial cancer in a 17-year-old young man]

We report a case of small cell lung cancer in a 17 year-old man. He was admitted to our unit suffering from a two month history of pain left shoulder. Chest X-rays showed a large round mass in the left upper lobe. The chest CT scan revealed a tumor with evidence of first left rib involvement. Histological examination, after surgical biopsy revealed small cell carcinoma, confirmed by two independent pathological physicians. Small cell lung carcinoma is very rare in the under 20 year age group and we compare this case with other types of lung cancer in young patients described in the literature.