A Cancer That Went Up in Smoke

Introduction:
This text presents a case report of a patient who experienced lung inflammation and the formation of nodules after using e-cigarettes. The reader will learn about the potential health risks associated with e-cigarette use and the importance of considering e-cigarettes as a possible cause of lung inflammation.

Key Points:

* The patient was a 45-year-old woman who had been using e-cigarettes for 20 months after quitting traditional cigarettes.
* She presented with abdominal pain and fever, and imaging revealed multiple pulmonary nodules and liver lesions, which were initially thought to be metastatic cancer.
* Extensive testing found no evidence of malignancy, and a lung biopsy revealed a foreign body reaction to a lipophilic material.
* After the patient stopped using e-cigarettes, the lung nodules disappeared, and the liver lesions regressed.
* The study suggests that e-cigarette use can induce an inflammatory reaction that mimics metastatic cancer.
* The use of e-cigarettes has gained popularity worldwide as a substitute for smoking, but there is concern about their long-term health effects.
* Few randomized controlled trials have investigated the efficacy of e-cigarettes in smoking cessation, and their safety remains unproven.
* Both eosinophilic pneumonitis and exogenous lipoid pneumonia have been linked to e-cigarette use.

Main Message:
This case report highlights the potential health risks associated with e-cigarette use. The patient's lung inflammation and the formation of nodules, which mimicked metastatic cancer, were likely caused by e-cigarette use. The safety of e-cigarettes remains unproven, and their use as a substitute for smoking should be approached with caution. Healthcare providers should be aware of the potential health risks associated with e-cigarette use and consider it as a possible cause of lung inflammation. Further research is needed to fully understand the long-term health effects of e-cigarette use.

Ring Madsen, Lene, Niels Henrik Vinther Krarup, Troels Korshøj Bergmann, Steen Bærentzen, Shadman Neghabat, Lone Duval, and Søren Tang Knudsen. “A Cancer That Went Up in Smoke.” Chest 149, no. 3 (March 2016): e65–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2015.09.003.