OpenMed/multicare-articles huggingface dataset:
A case of Bowen's disease and small-cell lung carcinoma: long-term consequences of chronic arsenic exposure in Chinese traditional medicine
Authors: Linda Lee, Gwyn Bebb
Journal: Environ Health Perspect (2005)
MeSH terms: Arsenic / adverse effects, Bowen's Disease / chemically induced, Carcinoma, Small Cell / chemically induced, Lung Neoplasms / chemically induced, Medicine, Chinese Traditional / adverse effects, Neoplasms, Second Primary / chemically induced, Skin Neoplasms / chemically induced, Case Reports, Administration, Oral, Asthma / drug therapy, Carcinoma, Small Cell / diagnosis, Humans, Lung Neoplasms / diagnosis, Male, Middle Aged, Neoplasms, Second Primary / diagnosis, Time Factors, Arsenic

Chronic arsenic toxicity occurs primarily through inadvertent ingestion of contaminated water and food or occupational exposure, but it can also occur through medicinal ingestion. This case features a 53-year-old lifetime nonsmoker with chronic asthma treated for 10 years in childhood with Chinese traditional medicine containing arsenic. The patient was diagnosed with Bowen's disease and developed extensive-stage small-cell carcinoma of the lung 10 years and 47 years, respectively, after the onset of arsenic exposure. Although it has a long history as a medicinal agent, arsenic is a carcinogen associated with many malignancies including those of skin and lung. It is more commonly associated with non-small-cell lung cancer, but the temporal association with Bowen's disease in the absence of other chemical or occupational exposure strongly points to a causal role for arsenic in this case of small-cell lung cancer. Individuals with documented arsenic-induced Bowen's disease should be considered for more aggressive screening for long-term complications, especially the development of subsequent malignancies.