Letter to the Editor

Hypertrophic Pulmonary Osteoarthropathy Disappearance Despite Lung Cancer Relapse

Authors: Jan Cerny, MD, Robert Licho, MD, Peter Simkin, MD, William V. Walsh, MD

Abstract

To the Editor:


Hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy (HPO) is a rare paraneoplastic syndrome frequently associated with lung cancer. The pathogenesis of HPO is not completely understood, but the presence of arteriovenous shunts (either in the heart or in the lungs) seems to be condicio sine qua non. We support this hypothesis by describing a patient with nonsmall cell lung cancer who had HPO at the time of diagnosis, but not at the time of extrapulmonary relapse.

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