Causes of superior vena caval syndrome

• Superior vena caval syndrome refers to the symptoms that arise due to obstruction to the superior vena cava
• 90% of superior vena caval syndrome is caused by malignancies
• Among malignancies, lung cancer is the most common cause followed by lymphomas
• Other causes of superior vena caval syndrome include thymomas, metastatic breast carcinomas, metastatic genitourinary and gastrointestinal cancers
• Among different types of lung cancer, small cell variant has the highest chance of causing SVC syndrome
• Approximately 8% of patients with small cell lung cancer develop SVC syndome compared to 4% of non small cell lung cancers

Reference:
Clinical hematology and oncology: presentation, diagnosis, and treatment By Bruce Furie