Dirofilariasis of the lung accompanied by lung cancer: Report of a case

Abstract

We experienced a case in which lung dirofilariasis was accompanied by lung cancer. A 55-year-old male was admitted to our hospital for investigation of an abnormal chest shadow. Chest CT showed a node with well defined marginal shadow and poorly defined regular node shadow in the right S³, and an irregular mass shadow in the right S⁶. FDG accumulation was observed at the irregular mass shadow in the right S⁶, but not at the well-defined node mass in the right S³. The patient underwent a right lower lobectomy and partial resection of the right upper lobe under video-assisted thoracic surgery. The pathological findings revealed that the well-defined node in the right S³ and the irregular mass shadow in the right S⁶ were dirofilariasis and squamous cell carcinoma, respectively. Dirofilariasis might be considered as one of candidates in the differential diagnosis when a lung tumor presents a well-defined margin along with negative FDG-PET findings.