Rheumatology International

, Volume 32, Issue 6, pp 1737–1740 | Cite as

Small cell lung cancer presenting as dermatomyositis: mistaken for single connective tissue disease

  • Guanqun Chao
  • Lizheng Fang
  • Chongrong Lu
  • Zhouwen Chen
Original Article

Abstract

Dermatomyositis (DM) is well-known to be associated with several types of malignancy. This case emphasizes the importance of a thorough examination for an underlying cancer, in patients with the symptoms of dermatomyositis. We report the case of a 62-year-old Chinese man who presented with a two-month history of edema of face and neck, together with erythema of the eyelids diagnosed of small cell lung cancer. Initially, it was thought to be single connective tissue disease such as DM. This study highlights the importance of a thorough physical examination when visiting a patient.

Keywords

Small cell lung cancer Dermatomyositis Case report 

References

  1. 1.
    Hill CL, Zhang Y, Sigurgeirsson B, Pukkala E, Mellemkjaer L, Airio A et al (2001) Frequency of specific cancer types in dermatomyositis and polymyositis: a population-based study. Lancet 357:96–100PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. 2.
    Sontheimer RD (2002) Dermatomyositis: an overview of recent progress with emphasis on dermatologic aspects. Dermatol Clin 20:387–408PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. 3.
    Sontheimer RD, Costner MI (2008) Dermatomyositis. In: Wolff K, Goldsmith LA, Katz SI, Gilchrest BA, Paller AS, Leffell DJ (eds) Fitzpatrick’s dermatology in general medicine, 7th edn. McGraw-Hill, NY, pp 1536–1553Google Scholar
  4. 4.
    Sterz G (1916) Polymyositis. Berliner Klinische Wochenschrift 53:489Google Scholar
  5. 5.
    Till SH, Jones AC (1998) Dermatomyositis: how far to go! Ann Rheum Dis 57(4):198–200PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. 6.
    Botsios C, Ostuni P, Boscolo-Rizzo P, Da Mosto MC, Punzi L, Marchiori C (2003) Dermatomyositis and malignancy of the pharynx in caucasian patients: report of two observations. Rheumatol Int 23:309–311PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. 7.
    Bohan A, Peter JB (1975) Polymyositis and dermatomyositis: I. N Engl J Med 292(7):344–347PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. 8.
    Gabrilovich M, Raza M, Dolan S et al (2006) Paraneoplastic polymyositis associated with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. Chest 129:1721–1723PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. 9.
    Mori H, Habe K, Hakamada A et al (2005) Relapse of dermatomyositis after 10 years in remission following curative surgical treatment of lung cancer. J Dermatol 32:290–294PubMedGoogle Scholar
  10. 10.
    Callen JP, Wortmann RL (2006) Dermatomyositis. Clin Dermatol 24:363–373PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. 11.
    Tsang KW, Lam WK, Ip M (1998) Response of dermatomyositis co-existing with non-small cell lung cancer to chemotherapy. Respir Med 92:788–790PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. 12.
    Fujita J, Tokuda M, Bandoh S et al (2001) Primary lung cancer associated with polymyositis/dermatomyositis: with a review of the literature. Rheumatol Int 20:81–84PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. 13.
    Dourmishev LA, Dourmishev AL (2009) Paraneoplastic dermatomyositis. In: Popov JM (ed) Dermatomyositis: advances in recognition understanding and management. Springer, Berlin, pp 157–160Google Scholar
  14. 14.
    Ang P, Sugeng MW, Chua SH (2000) Classical and amyopathic dermatomyositis seen at the National skin centre of Singapore: a 3-year retrospective review of their clinical characteristics and association with malignancy. Ann Acad Med Singa 29(2):219–223Google Scholar
  15. 15.
    Kim HI, Chung SH, Hwang JE et al (2007) Dermatomyositis associated with cancer of unknown primary site. J Korean Med Sci 22(Suppl 1):S174–S177PubMedCrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  • Guanqun Chao
    • 1
  • Lizheng Fang
    • 1
    • 2
  • Chongrong Lu
    • 1
  • Zhouwen Chen
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of Family Medicine, Sir Run Run Shaw HospitalZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina
  2. 2.Department of General Medicine, Sir Run Run Shaw HospitalZhejiang UniversityHangzhouChina

Personalised recommendations