Clinical and Imaging Features of Acute Cerebral Infarction in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Patients with Trousseau Syndrome

Background and objective Acute cerebral infarction is a form of Trousseau syndrome (TS), but is relatively rare and often overlooked by clinicians. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical, laboratory and imaging features of acute cerebral infarction in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with TS. Methods Clinical data, laboratory examination and imaging data of 25 NSCLC patients with TS presented with acute cerebral infarction were collected retrospectively for analysis. Results Of the 25 patients, 18 males and 7 females, aged 39-78 years old, including 22 cases of adenocarcinoma, 2 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, and 1 case of large cell carcinoma; all patients had clinical symptoms and signs of acute cerebral infarction; plasma D-dimer was significantly increased, and prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time were shortened to varying degrees; all patients showed acute multiple cerebral infarction foci involving multiple intracranial arterial blood supply areas on plain head magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) sequence], the blood supply vessel lumen corresponding to the infarction foci did not show moderate to severe stenosis on the head MR angiography (MRA). Conclusion NSCLC with multiple acute cerebral infarctions is a rare manifestation of TS, which is characterized by multiple acute cerebral infarctions involving multiple arterial blood supply areas with significant hypercoagulability. Improving the early understanding of this disease can provide some help for clinical diagnosis and treatment.