Pancoast Tumor Masquerading as Cervical Spondylosis: a Case Report

Abstract

Pancoast tumor is a primary carcinoma occurring at the apex of the lungs. These tumors have distinct clinical presentation because of their anatomical location and the resultant clinical entity, called Pancoast syndrome, presents as severe pain in the neck, shoulder and arm and as Horner’s syndrome. The initial symptoms are most frequently musculoskeletal in nature and the pulmonary symptoms of lung cancer are rather rare resulting in delayed diagnosis of this condition in majority of the cases. We report a case of 65-year-old female who presented with pain in the neck, left shoulder and arm along with numbness and tingling sensation in her forearm and hand mimicking clinically as cervical spondylosis. On detailed evaluation, she was diagnosed to have Pancoast tumor. This case report highlights the clinical presentation of Pancoast tumor and emphasizes the importance of its inclusion in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with persistent pain in the neck and shoulder. Nepal Journal of Medical Sciences | Volume 02 | Number 02 | July-December 2013 | Page 184-186 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njms.v2i2.8973