Challenges in the differential diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis vs. lung cancer: A case report.

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and certain types of lung cancer (LC), such as lung adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and small cell undifferentiated carcinoma, are prevalent diseases that share similar clinical symptoms and imaging characteristics, increasing the risk of misdiagnosis. The present report documents the case of a man with a history of close contact with TB who exhibited clinical symptoms and lung CT scan findings that strongly indicated pulmonary TB. However, the diagnosis was ultimately confirmed to be lung adenocarcinoma on endoscopic biopsy. The present report shows that clinicians should always consider the possibility of LC in patients with TB-related pulmonary pathological changes detected by imaging.