A Case of Spontaneous Pneumothorax During Chemotherapy for Metastatic Choriocarcinoma.

Lee, Hyang; Kang, Mu Sam; Lee, Sam Mi; Kim, Moon Hong; Kim, Seong Il; Choi, Seok Cheol; Ryu, Sang Young; Lee, Kyung Hee

Case Report

Korean Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 2002;45(9):1633-1635.
Published online September 1, 2002.

A Case of Spontaneous Pneumothorax During Chemotherapy for Metastatic Choriocarcinoma.

Hyang Lee, Mu Sam Kang, Sam Mi Lee, Moon Hong Kim, Seong Il Kim, Seok Cheol Choi, Sang Young Ryu, Kyung Hee Lee

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

Spontaneous pneumothorax is a rare complication of pulmonary metastatic disease, most often following chemotherapy for osteogenic sarcomas, primary lung cancer or malignant germ cell tumors. Intensive chemotherapy may theoretically increase the risk of pneumothorax in patients with manifest or occult lung metastases by inducing rapid lysis of the tumor tissue and by interfering with repair processes. We present a case of patient with spontaneous pneumothorax after the introduction of chemotherapy for metastatic choriocarcinoma and review the literature and discuss the possible pathophysiologic mechanisms.

Key Words: chemotherapy, lung metastases, spontaneous pneumothorax