Non-small cell lung cancer complicated by bleeding: a clinical case

Background. Pulmonary hemorrhage is one of the threatening complications of lung cancer. Patients often admit into general hospitals in urgent way with an advanced tumor process. These settigs largely determine the prognosis of the disease and the results of treatment. Description of the clinical case. A clinical observation of a 53-year-old patient is presented. This patient was treated in the Thoracic Department of the Thoraco-Abdominal Division of the N.N. Blokhin NMRCO with a diagnosis of central cancer of the right main stem bronchus, lower and middle lobe atelectasis, secondary obstructive pneumonia with abscess formation, recurrent pulmonary hemorrhage, pT3N2M0 (IIIA stage). The patient underwent emergency surgery for vital indications due to the recurrence of pulmonary hemorrhage. The total life expectancy was 32 months from the time of diagnosis. Conclusion. Correctly determined degree of pulmonary bleeding and the properly chosen surgical tactics in this severe category of patients is the best way of treatment, allowing not only to stop the bleeding, but also to simultaneously remove the tumor as the cause of bleeding, and maximize the patient’s life expectancy even with the palliative nature of the intervention. In addition, for some patients with advanced forms of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the removal of a tumor as a source of pulmonary hemorrhage allows to assign a chemotherapy in the postoperative period - an important component of the combined treatment of NSCLC [1].

non-small cell lung cancer, pulmonary hemorrhage, obstructive pneumonia, abscess formation