A case of adenocarcinoma of the lung with malignant pleural effusion in elderly patient treated effectively by pemetrexed and carboplatin

: An 83-year-old male with left chest pain and dyspnea was referred to our hospital. A left upper lung tumor(f3. 6 cm in diameter)and pleural effusion in enhanced thoracic CT with suspicion of malignant pleural effusion were pointed out in June, 2009. There were no swelling lymph nodes and distant metastases by various imaging methods. The diagnosis of pleuritis carcinomatosa was obtained by Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery(VATS). Intraoperative intrapleural hypotonic treatment was given at the same time. Cytology specimens revealed adenocarcinoma. We diagnosed Stage IV(cT2aN0M1a)adenocarcino- ma of the lung, and treated the patient with pemetrexed(PEM)/carboplatin(CBDCA)chemotherapy. He received 4 courses of chemotherapy. Thereafter, the pleural effusion improved, and the tumor lesion disappeared. There was no abnormal accumulation of fluorodeoxyglucose(FDG)in the positron emission tomography CT(PET-CT)scan, and he was doing well without any sign of recurrence twenty-two months after treatment. This was a rare case of adenocarcinoma of the lung with malignant pleural effusion treated effectively by PEM/CBDCA chemotherapy, a safe treatment for an elderly patient.