2015 Volume 37 Issue 3 Pages 297-302
Background. Pulmonary tumorlets are commonly found in patients with diseased lungs. However, there are reports of tumorlets causing fibrosis and hyperplasia of the smooth muscle in the bronchus similar to the paracrine effect of neuroendocrine cells. Case. The patient was a 64-year-old woman. A nodule was detected incidentally in the left lung S^6 by chest CT, suggesting malignancy. We performed a left S^6 segmentectomy for diagnosis and treatment. The nodule was noted to be a firm, glass-like mass in the bronchus, but it was easily dissected from the pulmonary artery. The resected specimen showed accumulation of brown mucus material in the bronchi. Histological examination showed fibrosis of the bronchus wall, intricate infiltration of smooth muscle, inflammatory cells, and tumor cells in the fibrotic bronchial wall. Paracrine action of tumorlet cells thought to be neuroendocrine in origin was assumed to have been the cause of bronchiectasis. Conclusion. Tumorlets causing a local picture of bronchiectasis should be considered in patients with diseased lungs.
