Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion in a woman with small cell lung cancer

The incidence of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in women is increasing because of increased smoking. The syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH) is an endocrinologic abnormality that often occurs in patients with small cell lung cancer as a paraneoplastic syndrome. To understand the diagnostic images of, prognosis for, and management of SCLC and SIADH in women, we present a 69-year-old woman with a 118-pack-year history of smoking, diagnosed with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (limited to one hemi thorax) and SIADH. The patient had a complete response of both small cell lung cancer and SIADH symptoms to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but liver metastasis developed 10 months after diagnosis. The outcome for female patients with small cell lung cancer is still poor, and efforts should be undertaken to decrease the incidence of small call lung cancer by decreasing smoking in women.