Invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma of the lung mimicking pneumonia

Case contributed by Stefan Tigges
Diagnosis certain

Presentation

Dyspnea and cough.

Patient Data

Age: 60 years.
Gender: Female

Diffuse consolidation both lungs, right worse than left.

Diffuse ground-glass opacity in both lungs with increased septal lines. No pleural effusion or adenopathy. Central airways patent.

Diffuse increased F-18 FDG uptake corresponding to areas of ground-glass opacity.

Case Discussion

Invasive mucinous adenocarcinomas may be mistaken for pneumonia because these neoplasms are often bilateral, multicentric and present with consolidation and/or ground-glass opacities. They tend to have a poor prognosis.

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