J Korean Rheum Assoc.  2006 Jun;13(2):166-170.

A Case of Patient with Coincident Lung Cancer and Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated with Docetaxel-Cisplatin Chemotherapy

• Choi SO
• Jung JG
• Hyoung BJ
• Park SM
• Jung HJ
• Park BH
• Shim BY
• Kim WU
• Kim HK

Abstract

A 54-year-old male was admitted due to lung cancer and polyarthralgia involving wrist, hand, shoulder, and ankle joints. Five months ago, he had been diagnosed as adenocarcinoma of the lung, and treated with three cycles of chemotherapy using gemcitabine and cisplatin. In the course of chemotherapy, he had complained symmetrical polyarthralgia of hand and shoulder joints, resembling rheumatoid arthritis (RA). After treatment with chemotherapeutic agents, he still had severe polyarthritis refractory to anti-rheumatic drugs, including prednisolone, hydroxychloroquine, and methotrexate, and thus referred to our hospital. We changed the previous anti-cancer regimens to cisplatin plus docetaxel, a semisyntheic taxane molecule, which is known to suppress experimental polyarthritis. With additional three cycles of cisplatin plus docetaxel, RA disease activity as well as polyarthralgia was nearly completely resolved, and the extent of lung cancer was not aggravated. Although RA patients have an increased risk of malignancy, the outbreak of RA was very rare in lung cancer patients. Here we report a case of coincident lung cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, which was successfully treated by docetaxel plus cisplatin chemotherapy.

Keyword

Lung cancer; Rheumatoid arthritis; Chemotherapy; Docetaxel

MeSH Terms

Adenocarcinoma
Ankle Joint
Antirheumatic Agents
Arthralgia
Arthritis
Arthritis, Rheumatoid*
Cisplatin
Drug Therapy*
Hand
Humans
Hydroxychloroquine
Lung Neoplasms*
Lung*
Male
Methotrexate
Middle Aged
Prednisolone
Shoulder
Shoulder Joint
Wrist
Antirheumatic Agents
Cisplatin
Hydroxychloroquine
Methotrexate
Prednisolone