Pulmonary inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor: a case report.

Pulmonary inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor is a rare disease. Computed tomography in a 54-year-old woman showed a mass compressing the segmental bronchus of the left lung. Bronchoscopy indicated a mesenchymal tumor, hamartoma, or inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor. Because an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor can potentially clog the segmental bronchus, we performed a left upper division segmentectomy. Pathologic examination revealed an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor. In most cases, preoperative diagnosis is difficult because of the varied radiologic manifestations, and it can also be difficult to distinguish from malignancy in small tissue samples.