Korean J Med.
2012 Apr;82(4):507-511.
A Case of Hyperamylasemia Associated with Lung Adenocarcinoma
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. insookwoo@catholic.ac.kr
Abstract
- Hyperamylasemia in patients with lung cancer is relatively rare, occurring in 1-3% of all cases of the disease. The pathogenesis of hyperamylasemia in solid cancers is not clear. In Korea, no cases of hyperamylasemia have been reported in patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung. Instead, the lung cancers in patients with hyperamylasemia have in most cases been adenocarcinomas. We report a case of a 64-year-old woman with hyperamylasemia that was suspected to have been induced by mucinous adenocarcinoma of the lung. The patient's amylase isoenzyme pattern was of the salivary type. Systemic chemotherapy normalized her serum amylase levels and produced a partial response in her lung cancer.