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Facial pain can, on rare occasions, be the presenting symptom of
lung cancer. This report describes a patient with non-metastatic
lung cancer, which was associated with attacks of debilitating
facial pain, presenting as cluster headache. Moreover, 32 reported
cases of lung cancer–related facial pain (including the present one)
are reviewed, and their clinical features are summarized. The facial
pain is almost always unilateral, and is most commonly localized
to the ear, the jaws, and the temporal region. The pain is frequently
described as severe and aching, and may be continuous or
intermittent. Aggravation and expansion of the pain, digital clubbing,
increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and hypertrophic
osteopathy, may contribute to the diagnosis. Referred pain, due to
invasion or compression of the vagus nerve, as well as paraneoplastic
syndrome secondary to the production of circulating
humoral factors by the malignant tumor cells, is implicated in the
pathophysiology of facial pain associated with non-metastatic lung
cancer. Radiotherapy and tumor resection with vagotomy are very
effective in aborting the facial pain. Thus, lung cancer should be
included in the differential diagnosis of facial pain that is atypical
and/or refractory to treatment. J OROFAC PAIN 2003;17:262–267.
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