Abstract

 

Background: Many dermatologic lesions secondary to lung cancers may be encountered as paraneoplastic syndromes. But by now, very few case reports have been published showing the co -existence of lung cancer and paraneoplastic pemphigus.

Case: A 73-year-old male patient, on follow up by the dermatology clinics with the diagnosis of pemphigus erythematosis for 1.5 month, was admitted to our pneumatology clinic with the chief complaint of cough, hemoptysis and weight loss. In posteroanterior chest roentgenogram and computerised thorax tomography examinations of the patient, a right sided mass with mediastinal invasion was detected. Pathologic examination of the bronchoscopic forceps biopsies from the main carina was reported as undifferentiated large cell carcinoma. Thereafter, by detailed re-examination of the dermatologic lesions with biopsies, these lesions were considered as paraneoplastic pemphigus secondary to lung cancer.

Conclusion: We presented the case because of its extreme rarity and to draw attention to the fact that many dermatologic lesions, even though atypical, may be early indicators of lung cancers.

Key words: Lung Cancer, Paraneoplastic Pemphigus, Diagnosis