A case of metastatic lung tumor with a thin-walled cavity

Abstract

The patient was a 57-year-old man who had undergone high anterior resection and lymph node dissection in February 2007 for rectal cancer (pT3N1M0, stage IIIA) followed by UFT administration for one year postoperatively. A thin-walled cavity was detected in the posterior basal segment (S¹⁰) of the right lung on chest CT in July 2008, and the lesion exhibited a tendency to increase in size as well as uneven wall thickening. Although a diagnosis could not be made based on transbronchial lung biopsy, malignancy was suspected and surgery was performed to determine the diagnosis and treatment strategy. An excision biopsy was performed during thoracoscopic surgery, and the patient was diagnosed with lung metastasis of rectal cancer. A thin-walled cavity requires careful observation, and diagnosis must be confirmed by biopsy or other means in cases where findings suggest malignancy.