Synchronous primary adenocarcinoma of the lung and leiomyosarcoma of the small intestine

The occurrence of synchronous epithelial cancer of the lung and leiomyosarcoma of the small intestine is rare. We report here the case of a 62-year-old man with adenocarcinoma of the lung in clinical stage IIIB (T4N0M0). After two courses of chemotherapy (cisplatin, 80 mg/m2 and mitomycin C, 8 mg/m2) the patient developed symptoms of a small bowel obstruction. Palliative surgical resection was performed and a leiomyosarcoma of the small intestine was found and defined by an immunohistological study. The resection ameliorated the patient's symptoms. The patient died of disseminated adenocarcinoma 26 months following chemotherapy.