Abstract

Surgical resection is not generally indicated, but systemic chemotherapy or several molecular-targeted agents are selected as main treatments for advanced lung cancer. But as for the molecular-targeted agents, most patients eventually experience tumor progression due to acquired resistance. The role of residual or recurrent tumor resection after the treatment is unclear. A 65 year-old man was referred to our hospital due to abnormal radiographic image. Chest CT revealed a 50mm solid mass in the right upper lobe. The tumor involved hilar lymph node and extended to the junction of upper lobar bronchus. MRI revealed a 20mm brain metastasis in the left parietal lobe. He was initially diagnosed with cT2bN1M1b StageIVA EGFR(-) adenocarcinoma by transbronchial lung biopsy. Then, brain metastasis was removed surgically. He was finally diagnosed with ALK-rearranged adenocarcinoma from tissue of brain metastasis. Alectinib (600mg/day) was started as the first-line therapy. After 14 months of alectinib therapy, chest CT revealed remarkable reduction of the tumor and other two new lesions in the right upper lobe. One was a 10mm nodule close to the scar of primary tumor, which had not found at chest CT from three months ago. The other was a 15mm nodule apart from the scar, which existed before the alectinib treatment and had got larger gradually. PET-CT revealed the high fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake of only two new lesions. We performed complete VATS right upper lobectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection for treatment and diagnosis. Histopathlogical diagnoses: No residual viable cell was found in the primary lesion. The lesion close to the scar of the primary lesion was adenocarcinoma (ALK-rearranged), which was thought to be a recurrent lesion because of resemblance to brain metastasis in pathological tissue. The lesion apart from the main lesion was pT1bN0M0 StageIB squamous cell carcinoma, which was thought to be primary lung cancer. Alectinib was continued after the operation, and chest CT shows no sign of recurrence so far. We experienced a VATS right upper lobectomy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer after ALK-tyrosine kinase inhibitor administration.

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