Pulmonary sarcoidosis masquerading as metastatic cervical cancer: a pitfall in CT scans and positron emission tomography (PET)

BJR Case Rep. 2020 May 14;6(3):20190125. doi: 10.1259/bjrcr.20190125. eCollection 2020 Sep 1.

Abstract

Sarcoidosis has been associated with co-existing malignancies in several organs, including the breast and thyroid gland as well as lymphomas. However, the occurrence of sarcoidosis with cervical cancer is rare with only nine previous cases reported in the published literature. We present a case of pulmonary sarcoidosis imitating mediastinal lymph node metastases on the staging CT scan and positron emission tomography imaging. The presence of thoracic lymphadenopathy without any pelvic lymphadenopathy prompted histological confirmation of sarcoidosis on endobronchial ultrasound guided biopsy. Misdiagnosing pulmonary sarcoidosis as metastases would have precluded the patient from receiving the curative treatment and likely resulted in suboptimal outcomes.

Publication types

  • Case Reports