A case of an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor arising from the bronchus

Abstract

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) are a rare tumor occurring in young adults and arising in the lung, liver and urinary bladder. We report herein a case of an IMT in the bronchus of a young patient from the point of the cytological findings. Based on the results of computed tomography imaging, a 20-year-old female was informed that she had a nodule of 35mm in diameter in the bifurcation of her trachea. Following cytological examination of the bronchial brushing, spindle-shaped tumor cells were seen to have proliferated in a scattered manner or showed loose clusters. The size of the nuclei differed from tumor cell to tumor cell and intranuclear cytoplasmic inclusion bodies can be seen in the tumor cells.

Histologically, spindle-shaped tumor cells proliferated in disarray and lymphocytes or plasma cells infiltrated the background. We diagnosed an IMT based on the immunostaining results.