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Vol.49 No.4 contents | Japanese/English |
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- Case Report -
A Case of Primary Lung Paraganglioma
Masataro Hayashi1, Toshiki Tanaka1, Kazuhiro Ueda1, Nobuyuki Tanaka2, Kimikazu Hamano11Department of Surgery and Clinical Science, Division of Chest Surgery, 2Department of Radiology, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan
Background. Paragangliomas are neuroendocrine tumors originating from the paraganglia apart from the adrenal medulla. Most originate from the paraganglia in the head and neck, retroperitoneum, and bladder, and few cases of primary lung paraganglioma have been reported. Case. A 58-year-old woman undergoing tests for thyroid cancer was found to have a nodular shadow at S1+2 of the left lung. We suspected the nodule to be a hamartoma of the lung, and she was monitored carefully over the next 2 years, during which time the nodule grew only slightly. Finally, we resected the nodule and the intraoperative pathological diagnosis was undifferentiated carcinoma; thus, we could not judge whether the tumor was a metastasis of thyroid cancer or a primary lung cancer. We decided we needed permanent specimens to establish a final diagnosis. So, we finished the operation. Histopathological examination revealed that the tumor consisted of cells with small nuclei, neurofilaments between the cells, and a widespread Zellballen pattern. Immunostaining revealed that the tumor stained positively with S-100, synaptophysin, NSE, and chromogranin A. According to these results, we diagnosed primary lung paraganglioma. The patient had an uneventful postoperative course and there have been no signs of recurrence or metastasis. Conclusion. We encountered a case of resection for primary lung paraganglioma. This is a very rare case, so we make a report with some reference to the literature.
key words: Paraganglioma, Neuroendocrine tumor, Lung, Zellballen pattern
Received: February 5, 2009
Accepted: March 30, 2009
JJLC 49 (4): 467-471, 2009
