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LUNG CANCER: Yuan-Sheng Zang, Qing-Yu Xiu, Zheng Fang, Bing Li, Tian-Bao Xia Case Report: Dramatic Recovery of Lung Adenocarcinoma–Associated Dermatomyositis with Targeted Lung Cancer Therapy Alone Oncologist 2008; 13: 79-81 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]

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The Changing Face of Case Reports

Steven M Sorscher   (30 May 2008)

The Changing Face of Case Reports 30 May 2008
Steven M Sorscher, physician/oncologist Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Internal Medicine/Oncology Section Send letter to journal: Re: The Changing Face of Case Reports	Recently in The Oncologist, Zang et al. reported the response of both a lung adenocarcinoma and the associated severe dermatomyositis (DM) to gefitinib therapy [1]. As the authors noted, the case suggests the utility of gefitinib as a potential alternative to steroids in treating DM, perhaps particularly if it is associated with a tumor responsive to targeted therapy. This case also underscores the changing characteristics of "case reports." For years, case reports were more of an exercise in observing variations in the natural history of certain tumors in certain hosts, with only vague speculation as to the reason for the reported uniqueness. While the described patient is the first in whom both tumor and DM responded to gefitinib, the "identification" in this case relied largely on the authors realizing the subtle difference between this patient and most other lung cancer patients and then choosing a targeted agent which exploited the previously known increased response rate expected in a non-smoking female host with this cancer. As we become more astute in distinguishing between subgroups of lung (or other) cancers, and as patients are treated with newer therapies (such as gefitinib), nearly every case could be a potential case report because of genetic differences in the tumor, the host, or how the newer, novel agents chosen will act in that unique host-tumor setting. Reference 1 Zang YS, Xiu QY, Fang Z, et al. Case report: Dramatic recovery of lung adenocarcinoma-associated dermatomyositis with targeted lung cancer therapy alone. The Oncologist 2008;13;79-81. Disclosure: No actual or potential conflicts of interest were disclosed by the author of this eLetter.