A case of radiation pneumonitis associated with high serum KL-6 levels *
A 65-year-old man was admitted to our hospital in January 1992 for chemotherapy and radiation therapy against primary lung cancer, which was diagnosed as a squamous cell carcinoma by a transbronchial lung biopsy, The lung tumor was decreased in size and he was discharged in May 1993. Twenty-five days after discharge, he experienced fever and dyspnea, and was readmitted to our hospital. His chest x-ray and laboratory data suggested that he had radiation pneumonitis and his serum ＫＬ-6 level was high. Despite the treatment with methylprednisolone, prednisolone and cyclophosphamide, his serum ＫＬ- 6 levels rapidly increased and correlated with his serum ＬＤＨ levels and reversely correlated with the levels of ＰａＯ2 and opacities on chest x-ray films. An autopsy revealed a diffuse alveolar damage with proliferated type Ⅱ pneumocytes, which was consistent with radiation pneumonitis, but was not associated with any infectious lesions. The findings in this case suggest that the serum ＫＬ- 6 could be consistently high and that ＫＬ-6 levels could be a useful monitoring marker for radiation pneumonitis. (Accepted on September 30, 1997) Kawasaki Igakkaishi 23(2) : 121-126, 1997
