Objective: To explore the clinical manifestations of pulmonary lymphangitic carcinomatosis (PLC), to analyse its associated diagnostic methods, and to improve the understanding of PLC and its diagnosis.
Method: Retrospective analysis of 4 cases of PLC and review of the literature.
Result: The clinical manifestations of PLC include: (1) dyspnea and cough; (2) normal or restrictive pattern ventilation; (3) diffuse or local reticulonodular infiltrates in the lung like interstitial fibrosis and pleural effusion on chest radiograph; (4) CT and high-resolution CT (HRCT) scans reveal a beaded chain appearance caused by uneven thickening of the interlobular septa and pleural membrane, polygonal thickening of bronchovascular bundles, and mediastinal lymphadenopathy as well.
Conclusion: These clinical data suggest that any manifestations similar to pulmonary interstitial fibrosis complicated with pleural effusion and paratracheal lymphadenopathy should be further differentiated from PLC by HRCT and pleural-lung tissue biopsy.