PARAGANGLIOMA OF THE LUNG - DEVELOPED AFTER EXPOSURE TO NUCLEAR RADIATION BY THE TSCHERNOBYL ATOMIC REACTOR ACCIDENT

A 36-year-old Russian patient had been exposed to severe nuclear radia tion during the Tschernobyl accident and developed Cushing's syndrome in September 1991. After bilateral adrenalectomy a small centrally loc alized lung tumor in the left segment S-6 was diagnosed, and the syndr ome was correlated to primary lung cancer. Thoracotomy and resection o f the segments S-6 revealed a primary ACTH-producing lung tumor of the cell type of a paraganglioma. The patient lost his symptoms after cur ative tumor resection. The case is discussed under the aspects of tumo r etiology, its clinical course and immunohistochemical findings.