Tumor lysis syndrome in a patient with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer: Case report and literature review

Abstract

Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is a potential complication in cancer therapy. It may occur in highly treatment sensitive tumors, especially in childhood cancers and hematologic malignancies, whereas it is rare in the treatment of adult solid tumors. We report a case of TLS during chemotherapy in a patient with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC, squamous cell carcinoma) and review the literature regarding the occurrence of TLS in patients with NSCLC. Reviewing the literature, a total of 120 patients with solid tumors who developed TLS have been reported. There are only 9 other reported cases of NSCLC complicated with TLS. TLS is a potentially fatal complication especially in solid tumors because of its poor clinical outcome.