Abstract

Environmental arsenicosis is a serious public health problem in parts of Eastern India. Chronic arsenicosis is known to cause malignancy of various organs. We here report a case of simultaneous lung and skin squamous cell cancer in a 49-year-old male subject. His regular tube well drinking water was found to contain high levels of arsenic (0.125 mg/L), and his hair and nail samples also tested positive for arsenic. He was treated with chemotherapy (gemcitabine/carboplatin), followed by radiotherapy. He responded to the treatment with complete radiological remission. This case highlights a serious public health concern for arsenic affected parts of India.

Key words: Arsenic, lung cancer, squamous cell cancer, gemcitabine