Schook Romane M, Koudstaal Lyan, Comans Emile F, Postmus Pieter E, Grünberg Katrien, Paul Marinus A, Smit Egbert F, Sutedja Thomas G
Department of Pulmonary Diseases, VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Department of Pathology, VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Respir Med Case Rep. 2014 Aug 12;13:26-7. doi: 10.1016/j.rmcr.2014.07.002. eCollection 2014.
Mediastinal lymphadenopathy in combination with lung cancer is suggestive for lymph node metastases but can also have other origins.
We describe a patient diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer presenting with parenchymal lesions and enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes. A second opinion including FDG-PET scan review and a mediastinoscopy followed by surgery revealed tumor specimens originating from a single primary tumor with a sarcoid-like reaction in the mediastinal lymph nodes, changing the diagnosis from metastasized to resectable lung cancer.
PET positive lesions are not always synonymous with metastatic disease in the presence of a malignant tumor. Conscientious review of FDG-PET scans and tissue sampling are therefore mandatory to determine definitive staging and subsequent interventions.