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Vol.49 No.4 contents | Japanese/English |
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- Case Report -
A Case of Enlarging Round Atelectasis Requiring Differentiation from Lung Cancer
Makoto Nakagawa1, Masakazu Sugaya1, Akihiro Matsushita2, Takeshi Orihashi2, Yoko Yokoi2, Kazuhiko Machida21Department of Thoracic Surgery, 2Department of Respirology, Chubu Rosai Hospital, Japan
Background. Although round atelectasis is a benign disease related to pleural plaque and benign asbestos pleural effusion, it sometimes requires differentiation from lung cancer. Case. A 59-year-old man with occupational exposure to asbestos for 11 years, was referred to us because of a growing pulmonary mass in the left lower lobe on chest computed tomography. Transbronchial lung biopsy and brushing cytology did not disclose any evidence of malignancy. Although round atelectasis was most suspected, malignant disease including lung cancer could not be excluded because of slight increasing in the tumor markers SLX and NSE. Thus, we performed wedge resection of the left lower lobe. The histopathological findings of the resected specimen showed thickened visceral pleura and chronic pleurisy. There was no evidence of malignancy. We finally established a diagnosis of round atelectasis. Conclusion. We reported a case of enlarging round atelectasis requiring differentiation from lung cancer.
key words: Round atelectasis, Lung cancer, Asbestos
Received: January 8, 2009
Accepted: March 17, 2009
JJLC 49 (4): 456-460, 2009
