INTRODUCTION:
Unilateral facial pain has many medical and dental causes, like cluster
headaches, trigeminal neuralgia, giant cell arteritis, temporomandibular
joint dysfunction, oral abscess, dental decay, etc. However, when there
is no definitive aetiology, it may be described as “Atypical facial
pain” [1]. De Prez and Freemon reported the first case of atypical
facial pain in association with lung cancer in 1983 [2]. Since then,
cases have been reported where Facial pain was the first presenting
symptom of Lung cancer. To our knowledge, there are 40 cases of this
manifestation in the literature.
The term “Vagal Cephalgia” was first proposed by Evans for the facial
pain and headache associated with non-metastatic lung cancer due to
vagal nerve stimulation. This pain is usually persistent and severe. It
is most commonly around the ear, jaw, and temporal region. Lung cancer
is not always discovered on initial chest radiographs [3].
Therefore, physicians do not widely recognize lung cancer presentation,
delaying the diagnosis and increasing morbidity and mortality [4].
We describe a case of a patient with lung cancer who presented with
unilateral facial pain.