The widely accepted criteria for SR were published by Cole and Everson in 1956 [
1]. They defined SR as “the partial or complete disappearance of a malignant tumor in the absence of all treatment, or in the presence of therapy which is considered inadequate to exert a significant influence on neoplastic disease” [
1]. A literature search revealed the rare occurrence of SR in various cancer types, such as melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, and neuroblastoma [
3]. There are only a handful of cases in the literature in which authors have reported SR in a case of primary lung cancer [
1,
6,
7]. Lopez-Pastorini and colleagues [
7] reported a case of presumed squamous cell cancer that demonstrated SR after biopsy of a mediastinal lymph node, but they were unable to acquire tissue from the lung mass itself. They also summarized older articles that show just how scarce is the number of reported primary lung cancer SR cases; one such article they referenced described only two reports of primary lung cancer SR between 1951 and 2008 [
7].
Investigations on the mechanisms behind tumor SR have been inconclusive, but there are several theorized mechanisms. These studies and case reports have postulated different processes, such as immune mediation, tumor inhibition by cytokines or growth factors, hormonal influence, elimination of carcinogenesis, tumor necrosis, angiogenesis inhibition, apoptosis, epigenetic mechanisms, and induction of differentiation [
2‐
4,
8]. A leading hypothesis is that immunological response can be initiated by trauma to the area, such as when a tissue biopsy is extracted [
5]. In their original report, Cole and Everson showed that 40% of their cases of SR were related to some type pf operative trauma, and they concluded that stimulation of the immune process plays a key role in SR of cancers [
1,
7]. Butterfield’s review on cancer vaccinations mentions how surgery and tumor-ablative procedures of various magnitudes can be considered a sort of “cancer vaccine” [
9]. This comparison is attributed to how an ablation of a mass can affect antitumor immunity by the release of immunologically active tumor antigens that are inevitably liberated by damaged and dying cells during the ablation process [
9]. Other authors report an “abscopal” effect in which radiation to one mass can lead to regression in a mass that was not in the field of radiation [
10]. Mechanisms for this effect are thought to be mediated by the release of tumor antigens, “danger signals” (e.g., heat shock proteins and high morbidity group box 1), and proinflammatory cytokines [
11]. This abscopal effect further implies that insult to cancer cells may initiate an immune response that acts more widely than the area of insult, and efforts are underway to further understand and potentially treat cancer with this mechanism by combining insult to cells and immunotherapy in the form of injecting “danger signal” proteins and proinflammatory cytokines [
8,
11].
The lung cancer in our patient was essentially an incidental finding based on a CT scan, and the patient reported no significant symptoms. On the basis of current standards of care, surgery was recommended, but the patient declined. This aspect differs from other cases where patients had a lung cancer workup because of their complaints of progressive symptoms or because less sensitive imaging modalities (e.g., chest X-rays) had evident findings, indicating that the mass was potentially quite extensive/severe or metastatic. Our patient’s cancer was clinically stage I. Patients in other case reports had more advanced stages [
6,
7]. Case reports involving different stages of a tumor help further characterize SR and how it can occur in any stage of cancer. In addition, continuing to report patients who experience SR under any circumstances can potentially impact the identification of neoplastic drug targets or other novel treatments of cancer. Our patient’s case reinforces the need to further understand the mechanisms of tumor regression and the potential for treatment modalities that may significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality of cancer.