Lung Metastases from Bile Duct Adenocarcinoma Mimicking Chronic Airway Infection and Causing Diagnostic Difficulty

Intern Med. 2018 May 15;57(10):1429-1432. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.9718-17. Epub 2017 Dec 27.

Abstract

We herein report a case of lung metastases with unusual radiological appearances that mimicked those of chronic airway infection, causing diagnostic difficulty. A 60-year-old woman who underwent liver transplantation from a living donor was incidentally diagnosed with bile duct adenocarcinoma after a histopathological analysis of her explanted liver. Six months later, chest computed tomography (CT) revealed bilateral bronchogenic dissemination that had gradually worsened, suggesting chronic airway infection. A biopsy with bronchoscopy from a mass lesion beyond a segmental bronchus revealed adenocarcinoma identical to that of her bile duct adenocarcinoma, leading to the diagnosis of multiple lung metastases from bile duct adenocarcinoma.

Keywords: bile duct neoplasms; bronchoscopy; liver transplantation.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adenocarcinoma / pathology
  • Bile Duct Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Bile Duct Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Bronchoscopy
  • Cholangiocarcinoma / diagnostic imaging
  • Cholangiocarcinoma / secondary*
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Liver / pathology
  • Lung Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Lung Neoplasms / secondary*
  • Middle Aged
  • Radiography
  • Respiratory Tract Infections / diagnosis*
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed