A Case of Well Differentiated Papillary Adenocarcinoma Under Long-term Observation

Cytological Detection of Cilia and Brush Border-like Structures

Abstract

A 57-year-old man had a round lesion on his chest X-ray film for 4 years and 8 months. No evidence of malignancy was revealed by two bronchoscopic examinations before admission to our hospital. Our own bronchoscopic examination also revealed no evidence of malignancy. Right lower lobectomy was performed, with a preoperative diagnosis of lung cancer on the basis of the X-ray findings.
The aspiration biopsy cytology specimen obtained at operation showed columnar epithelium with slight atypia and brush border-like structures. Histological examination showed tall and enlarged columnar epithelium, leading to a diagnosis of well differentiated papillary adenocarcinoma of the bronchial surface cell type. The specimens demonstrated cilia and brush border-like structures. When cytology specimens reveal cilia and brush border-like structures, it is difficult to determine whether a lesion is malignant or not.