Systemic vasculitis in a patient with small-cell neuroendocrine bronchial cancer

A 75-yr-old male hospitalized for vascular purpura with joint pain had a me dical history of polymyalgia rheumatica, A generalized oedematous syndrome occurred and title patient also presented with haemoptysis and complained o f transient paraesthesia of the hands and feet, Renal biopsy showed lesions of focal segmental proliferative glomerulonephritis associated with a few cellular crescents. Lung biopsy showed small-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. After the first course of chemotherapy signs of vasculitis disappeared. Small-cell neuroendocrine carcinomas, which represent 25% of all lung cance rs, have? numerous paraneoplastic (especially neurological) extrapulmonary manifestations, Disseminated vasculitis has never been described with this type of cancer, whereas nonsmall-cell carcinomas are associated essentially with cutaneous vasculitis or purpura rheumatica. In the case reported here , anticancer chemotherapy allowed vasculitic manifestations to be treated.