A Case of Ectopic ACTH Syndrome Associated with Small Cell Lung Cancer

Hyun-Ju Song, Kum-Hei Ryu, Su-Hyun Kim, Su-Jin Yoon, Do-Yeun Kim, Seock-Ah Im, Chu-Myong Seong, Heasoo Koo, Soon-Nam Lee

Copyright ⓒ 2003. Ewha Womans University School of Medicine. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Published Online: Jun 30, 2003

Abstract

We report a case of extensive stage SCLC with EAS confirmed by immunohistochemical stain of ACTH in tumor cells who died early due to rapidly progressive acute respiratory distress and pneumonia before the start of chemotherapy and corticosteroid blocking agent. Through our case, we learn how important early diagnosis and treatment of EAS associated with SCLC are and hope to apply to other cases from now on.

Keywords: Ectopic ACTH syndrome; Small cell lung cancer; Cushing syndrome