Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer in a Very Young Age

Abstract

Neuza Oliveira Veira Taxeira Lopes, Abraham Gregor and Odilia Soares

The presence of cancer of the lungs is rare in adolescent patients, particularly in those under 20 years of age. A cancer that begins in the lungs is most often found in older patients with a history of tobacco use. In literature cancer in younger patients mostly meditational origins. Hence, we found two cases of lung cancer in a 15 and 17 years old male with different clinical presentation and history. In this paper, we hope to illustrate the unique challenges in diagnosing and treating young patients with lung cancer. The third case is 29 years old young man with malignant pleural mesothelioma which is a rare, invasive and often fatal neoplasm that develops in the thin layer of tissue surrounding the lungs known as the pleura. Although rare, mesotheliomas do occur in the young; their characteristics are distinct from those of older patients.

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