What happened, in summary

A 48-year-old man was diagnosed with Stage III squamous cell lung cancer in June 2020. He received 3 cycles of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy and achieved a partial response before undergoing a left pneumonectomy. Postoperative imaging initially showed no obvious abnormality, so adjuvant immunochemotherapy was started, followed by a cycle of sintilimab maintenance. Soon afterward he developed persistent fever, cough, sputum and shortness of breath. Imaging showed a bronchopleural fistula connecting the bronchial stump with the chest cavity. He received anti-infective and antifungal treatment but declined respiratory support and additional procedures such as bronchoscopy or fistula repair. His breathing worsened progressively, and he died on December 2, 2020. The fatal course was linked to the severe postoperative fistula and pulmonary infection rather than a documented recurrence of the lung cancer.