A 70 year old male presentes with breathlessness, facial swelling and dilated veins on the chest wall. The MOST common cause is:
Hodgkin's lymphoma
Thymoma
Lung cancer
Superior vena caval obstruction
Breathlessness, facial swelling and dilated veins on the chest wall, are features of Superior vena caval obstruction. Lung cancer, paicularly of small cell and squamous cell histologies, accounts for approximately 85% of all cases of malignant origin. In young adults, malignant lymphoma is a leading cause of SVCS. When SVCS is noted in a young man with a mediastinal mass, the differential diagnosis is lymphoma vs primary mediastinal germ cell tumor. Ref: Harrisons principles of internal medicine, 18th edition, Page: 2266