Superior Vena Cava Syndrome and Pulmonary Embolism Revealing a Lung Sarcomatoid Carcinoma: An Uncommon Presentation of a Rare Tumor
Pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma (PSC) is a rare and highly aggressive subtype of non-small cell lung cancer, associated with early metastatic spread and poor prognosis.Tumor-related thromboembolic complications and superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome are uncommon but severe manifestations.We report the case of a 62-year-old man with a history of smoking and alcohol use, presenting with a large right upper lobe tumor with widespread metastases, associated with radiologically suspected tumor-related pulmonary embolism and SVC invasion with multiple venous thromboses.Bronchoscopic biopsy with immunohistochemical analysis confirmed PSC.The patient received anticoagulation and urgent palliative radiotherapy (20 Gy in five fractions) for brain metastases and SVC syndrome.This case highlights the aggressive nature of PSC, its association with rare vascular complications, and the challenges of emergency palliative management in patients with advanced disseminated disease.
Authors
- Soufiane Berhili (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6390-8943)
- Loubna Mezouar
- Ahmed BenSghier
- Mohamed Moukhlissi
- Amina Chadli
Institutions
- Mohamed I University (MA)
- Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire Mohammed VI d'Oujda (MA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Cureus
- Published
- 2026-10-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.117503
- Primary Topic
- Metastasis and carcinoma case studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00