Recurrent Syncope Associated with Lung Cancer

Abstract

Syncope is an important problem in clinical practice with many possible causes that might be misdiagnosed. We present an unusual case of syncope, which has a normal chest X-ray. Exercise EKG and coronary angioplasty results confirmed the existence of serious coronary heart disease. The patient was treated with coronary stent transplantation. However, scope occurred again and the elevated tumor makers cytokeratin-19-fragment and neuron-specific enolase revealed the bronchogenic carcinoma, which was confirmed by enhanced CT examination. The treatment of carcinoma by chemotherapy was indeed sufficient for prompt elimination of the syncope symptoms.

Heart of the Matter: Syncope as a Rare Presentation of Lung Cancer Invading the Heart

“…7 Recurrent syncope can be associated with lung cancer and can present in unusual and cryptic ways including with normal chest radiograph and no respiratory symptoms. 8 Recurrent syncope without a clear cause should also alert the clinician to consider a subclinical presentation of lung cancer. In one case, chest radiography did not reveal any obvious mass until a subsequent chest CT prompted by abnormal labs showed a left mediastinal tumor compressing a branch of the vagal nerve leading to neutrally mediated syncope.…”

Small-cell lung cancer with recurrent syncope as the initial symptom: A case report and literature review

“…Using PubMed, a literature search was performed, and only 8 previously reported cases of SCLC with recurrent syncope were identified (Table I) (3–10). A total of 9 cases are included in the review, including the present case, comprising a total of 8 men and 1 woman, with a mean age of 62.33±2.12 years.…”

“…Syncope is commonly attributed to cardiogenic or cerebral factors when considering differential diagnosis. It has been reported that episodic syncope is rarely caused by small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) (3), and clinicians should bear this possibility in mind, as it may be associated with life-threatening events. However, the mechanism underlying the occurrence of this type of syncope has not been fully elucidated.…”

“…However, the mechanism underlying the occurrence of this type of syncope has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, we herein report a case treated at the Changhai Hospital of the Second Military Medical University (Shanghai, China) and review 8 cases (3–10) of SCLC accompanied with episodic syncope, with the aim of analysing potential mechanisms associated with lung tumour anatomy, the neurobiology of SCLC and the inducing factors of syncope, in order to provide optimal management recommendations for clinicians to identify and treat episodic syncope patients.…”

Corrigendum to “Recurrent Syncope Associated with Lung Cancer”

“…In the article titled “Recurrent Syncope Associated with Lung Cancer” [1], an acknowledgement should be added.…”