Yu Xiaoyan, Peng Yi, Nie Tingting, Sun Wenjia, Zhou Yajuan
Department of Radiotherapy, Hubei Cancer Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Department of Pathology, Hubei Cancer Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
Front Oncol. 2023 Aug 11;13:1207336. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1207336. eCollection 2023.
Thalassemia is a group of common genetic hematologic disorders characterized by deficient synthesis of the hemoglobin chain. Due to effective blood transfusion and optimization of chelate therapy, the survival of thalassemia patients and their overall quality of life have improved noticeably in the past few decades. As a consequence, the longer life expectancy has led to the manifestation of several concomitant morbidities, including heart disease, infections, cirrhosis, endocrine abnormalities, various malignancies, and so on. In this context, the probability and updated literature about some malignancy cases in patients with thalassemia build new scenarios for the next few years. We describe the first report of a thalassemic patient developing diabetes and head and neck cancer and try to summarize the possible predisposing factors and mechanisms behind their phenomenon.
The current case report describes a 50-year-old Asian man who has been diagnosed with thalassemia since childhood. In early 2017, he was also diagnosed with diabetes and started on insulin-hypoglycemic treatment. The patient was then diagnosed with primary non-keratinizing undifferentiated carcinoma of the nasopharynx in late February 2013. A biopsy of the left tongue revealed squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in late March 2019.
We report the first case of a thalassemic patient developing diabetes and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and discuss the possibility of a link between the three diseases. This specific case should alert physicians to the possibility of endocrinopathy and malignancy in thalassemic patients.
地中海贫血是一组常见的遗传性血液系统疾病，其特征是血红蛋白链合成不足。由于有效的输血和螯合疗法的优化，在过去几十年中，地中海贫血患者的生存率和总体生活质量有了显著提高。因此，预期寿命的延长导致了几种伴随疾病的出现，包括心脏病、感染、肝硬化、内分泌异常、各种恶性肿瘤等。在此背景下，地中海贫血患者发生某些恶性肿瘤病例的可能性及最新文献为未来几年构建了新的情况。我们描述了首例地中海贫血患者并发糖尿病和头颈癌的报告，并试图总结其现象背后可能的诱发因素和机制。
本病例报告描述了一名50岁的亚洲男性，他自幼被诊断为地中海贫血。2017年初，他还被诊断出患有糖尿病，并开始接受胰岛素降糖治疗。该患者于2013年2月下旬被诊断为鼻咽原发性非角化未分化癌。2019年3月下旬，左侧舌部活检显示为鳞状细胞癌（SCC）。
我们报告了首例地中海贫血患者并发糖尿病和头颈部鳞状细胞癌的病例，并讨论了这三种疾病之间存在关联的可能性。这一特殊病例应提醒医生注意地中海贫血患者发生内分泌病和恶性肿瘤的可能性。
