Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma of the Lung Presenting as a Cavitary Lesion
Tawee Tanvetyanon MD*, Vorachai Ratanatharathorn MD**, Juvady Leopairat MD***
Affiliation : * Department of Medicine, Loyola University Medical, Center and Hines Veteran Affair Hospital ** Department of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University *** Department of Pathology, Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University
The authors describe a 62-year-old female patient who presented with a progressively enlarging cavitary lesion in the right upper lobe of the lung. Acid-fast bacilli were recovered from a bronchial washing fluid and identified as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. She received antituberculous therapy for 5 months without improvement in her clinical symptoms and chest radiograph. A lobectomy was performed and pathological review demonstrated a high-grade mucoepidermoid lung carcinoma with extensive central necrosis. Staging revealed metastases in her left adrenal gland, kidney and spine. High-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the lung may present as a cavitary lesion. The presence of M. tuberculosis should not preclude clinicians from pursuing adequate diagnostic procedures for a possible malignant lesion.
Keywords : Mucoepidermoid lung carcinoma, Pulmonary tuberculosis
