Pancoast syndrome consists of signs and symptoms resulting from a tumor affecting the pulmonary apex and adjacent structures. The process is typically caused by a neoplasm. The majority of cases of Pancoast syndrome are caused by bronchogenic carcinoma. The most commonly found histologic subtypes are adenocarcinoma and epidermoid carcinoma. There have been very few reports of small cell lung carcinoma in the genesis of Pancoast syndrome. We describe the case of a patient with Pancoast syndrome caused by small cell lung carcinoma and discuss the aspects related to the diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: Pancoast syndrome; Small cell lung carcinoma; Lung neoplasms.

The authors describe a case of pulmonary collapse by T. gondii, in a 57 year-old man. Diagnosis was made by serology after an exhaustive clinical radiological evaluation. The clinical variants of polymiositis and of the respiratory system collapse presented by the patient are discussed considering the small number of references to this entity in the Brazilian medical literature.