{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T11:42:36Z","timestamp":1785238956343,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":19,"publisher":"BMJ","content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Case Reports"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2017,5,29]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>We present the case of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a 48-year-old woman with an active history of smoking. The patient initially presented to her general practitioner with a progressive swelling on the neck. Further investigations diagnosed a metastatic lung tumour, and palliative chemotherapy was started. After 5 months of treatment, by newly reported amenorrhoea, cautiously before a restaging CT scan of the abdomen, a pregnancy test was performed and was positive. Both the gynaecological examination and the hormonal panel yielded no signs of pregnancy. Immunohistochemically, staining of the tumour was strongly positive for \u03b2-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (\u03b2-hCG) suggesting that the tumour was responsible for high \u03b2-hCG levels.<\/jats:p>\n               <jats:p>Paraneoplastic \u03b2-hCG secretion from adenocarcinomas is rare. In the literature, only a few such cases have been reported. Previous studies suggested that the ability to secrete \u03b2-hCG in tumours may correlate to some extent to chemoresistance and thus, to a worse prognosis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/bcr-2017-220493","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,7,1]],"date-time":"2017-07-01T07:30:14Z","timestamp":1498894214000},"page":"bcr-2017-220493","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["When cancer patients suddenly have a positive pregnancy test"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"2017","author":[{"given":"Daniela","family":"Groza","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Internal Medicine, Stadtspital Triemli, Zurich, Switzerland"},{"name":"Oncology, Stadtsspital Triemli, Z\u00fcrich, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Donat","family":"Duerr","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Oncology, Stadtspital Triemli, Zurich, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mathias","family":"Schmid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Stadtspital Triemli, Zurich, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Beatrix","family":"Boesch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Stadtspital Triemli, Zurich, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,7,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1477-7827-7-8"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1210\/en.2007-0286"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.3","first-page":"919","article-title":"Hyperglycosylated hCG in gestational implantation and in choriocarcinoma and testicular germ cell malignancy tumorigenesis","volume":"51","author":"Cole","year":"2006","journal-title":"J Reprod Med"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.4","unstructured":"en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Human_chorionic_gonadotropin"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.5","unstructured":"\"Tumor Markers Found in Blood or Urine\". American Cancer Society (Retrieved 21 January 2014)."},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"163","DOI":"10.1093\/jjco\/hyd028","article-title":"Secretion of hCG\/BhCG by squamous cell carcinoma of the lung in a 31-year-old female smoker","volume":"11","author":"Yoshida","year":"2000","journal-title":"Jpn J Clin Oncol"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1159\/000030052"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.8","first-page":"359","article-title":"[Significance of serum beta-hCG as a tumor marker for stomach carcinoma]","volume":"380","author":"Rau","year":"1995","journal-title":"Langenbecks Arch Chir"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/00365590802468834"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.otohns.2010.02.036"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"49","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gore.2016.05.004","article-title":"A non-pregnant woman with elevated beta-HCG: A case of para-neoplastic syndrome in ovarian cancer","volume":"17","author":"Goldstein","year":"2016","journal-title":"Gynecol Oncol Rep"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104","DOI":"10.1097\/00000441-200208000-00010","article-title":"Retroperitoneal leiomyosarcoma and enlarged epididymis associated with a positive pregnancy test","volume":"324","author":"Mansi","year":"2002","journal-title":"Am J Med Sci"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.13","unstructured":"Eriksen M , Mackay J , Ross H . The tobacco atlas. USA: BMJ Publishing Group, 2012. Fourth Edition."},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.14","first-page":"76","article-title":"Beta-human Chorionic Gonadotropin-secreting Lung Adenocarcinoma","volume":"22","author":"Wong","year":"2015","journal-title":"Malays J Med Sci"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"44","DOI":"10.6058\/jlc.2011.10.1.44","article-title":"Pulmonary carcinoma with \u03b2-Human Chorionic Gonadotropin expression: further understanding and suggestions for this entity from six cases experience in a single Institution","volume":"10","author":"Lee","year":"2011","journal-title":"J Lung Cancer"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lungcan.2007.12.026"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"228","DOI":"10.1186\/1477-7819-11-228","article-title":"BetaHCG secretion by a pulmonary adenocarcinoma","volume":"11","author":"Vicier","year":"2013","journal-title":"World J Surg Oncol"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1159\/000030052"},{"key":"2025082722582906000_2017.jul01_1.bcr-2017-220493.19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"260","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mce.2006.02.019","article-title":"Ectopic hCGbeta expression by epithelial Cancer: malignant behaviour, metastasis and inhibition of tumor cell apoptosis","volume":"260-262","author":"Iles","year":"2007","journal-title":"Mol Cell Endocrinol"}],"container-title":["BMJ Case Reports"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/bcr-2017-220493","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,28]],"date-time":"2025-08-28T05:58:42Z","timestamp":1756360722000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/casereports.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/bcr-2017-220493"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2017,7,1]]},"references-count":19,"alternative-id":["10.1136\/bcr-2017-220493"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bcr-2017-220493","relation":{},"ISSN":["1757-790X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1757-790X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2017,7,1]]}}}