Advanced Lung Cancer with Superior Vena Cava Syndrome and brain metastasis- Long term survivorship

Abstract

Lung cancer has been one of the deadliest cancers and majority of the cases present in advanced stages. Moreover, brain metastases and superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) in lung cancer patients further have been coupled with dismal prognosis and short overall survival. Such patients presenting in fourth stage of cancer have been considered usually incurable and considered for palliative treatment or sometimes Best Supportive Care. Case Report- We present a case of carcinoma lung with SVCS, who later on developed brain metastasis in the course of treatment. He has been successfully treated with radiation therapy to lung lesion with concurrent chemotherapy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. He also received External Beam Radiation for brain metastasis. He is disease free after 7 years of treatment completion and on regular follow-up till date. Conclusion- This case is being reported in view of long term survivorship of a locally advanced and metastatic lung cancer patient with a poor prognosis and to accentuate the fact that selected subsets of patients, with metastatic disease, can be treated with aggressive protocols to ensure long term disease control