Kawano Ryoji, Hata Enjo, Ikeda Shingo, Yokota Toshiya
Surgical Department of Respiratory Center, Mitsui Memorial Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Jpn J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2005 Nov;53(11):611-4. doi: 10.1007/s11748-005-0149-9.
We describe a resected pulmonary blastoma in an 84-year-old male, the oldest of previously reported patients. A chest X-ray showed a 2 cm-sized abnormal shadow in the left lung field. Five months later computed tomography demonstrated a well-demarcated heterogenous mass, measuring 12 cm in diameter, in the left lower lobe of the lung. This mass was diagnosed as a carcinoma using echo-guided percutaneous biopsy. The patient underwent a left lower lobectomy. The resected specimen revealed the tumor to be a pulmonary blastoma arising from lung tissue. Preoperative diagnosis of pulmonary blastoma is extremely difficult because of the histological heterogeneity of tumor. Since it has been noted that pulmonary blastoma rapidly progresses in a short period of time, surgical treatment should be undertaken as quickly as possible when such a tumor is suspected.