Tracheoesophageal Fistula Closed by Chemoradiotherapy in Lung Cancer

• Main Authors: Takayuki Honda, Yoshihito Tsuzaki, Keiko Mitaka, Kazuhiro Fukasawa, Yoshihiro Miyashita, Kan Marino, Akitoshi Saito, Toshio Oyama, Naohiko Inase
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Karger Publishers 2011-07-01
• Series: Case Reports in Oncology
• Subjects: Chemoradiotherapy; Lung carcinoma; Tracheoesophageal fistula
• Online Access: http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/330368

A 45-year-old man complaining of cough, dyspnea, and difficulty in swallowing was referred to our hospital. Chest CT scan showed a mediastinal mass compressing the trachea. He was diagnosed with poorly differentiated lung carcinoma by percutaneous needle biopsy. Bronchoscopy and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF). Long-lasting febrile neutropenia made it impossible to continue chemotherapy, but a course of radiotherapy (total 61 Gy) was completed. The next endoscopy revealed closure of the TEF. Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) has been reported to close TEF in esophageal cancer, but the risk of a CRT-induced worsening of the fistula has dissuaded physicians from using CRT to treat TEF in lung cancer patients. CRT may serve as a palliative treatment for TEF in lung cancer as well as esophageal cancer.