An autopsy case of pulmonary adenocarcinoma of fetal type treated with radiation therapy.

A 68-year-old female patient with well-differentiated adenocarcinoma simulating fetal lung tubulus in pseudoglandular stage (pulmonary adenocarcinoma of fetal type) is reported. This type of tumor was first described by Kradin et al. in 1982, and reported by Kodama et al. in 1984. This tumor has characteristics consistent with those of pulmonary endodermal tumor but not with typical pulmonary blastoma. This patient with clinical stage IIIA disease was treated with definitive radiation therapy alone and had shown a good course for two years, but died from malignant pleural effusion and extensive distant metastases. At autopsy, the tumor showed pathological features consistent with those of previously reported cases.