Myelolipoma of the lung: a case report and brief review
- 1Department of Pathophysiological and Experimental Pathology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan
- 2Department of Respiratory Medicine, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan
- Correspondence to: Dr K Sato Department of Pathophysiological and Experimental Pathology, Kanazawa Medical University, 1-1 Daigaku, Uchinada, Kahoku, Ishikawa 920-0293, Japan;sato-k{at}kanazawa-med.ac.jp
- Accepted 14 October 2005
Myelolipomas are rare tumours composed of mature adipose tissue and normal haematopoietic cells. They commonly occur in the adrenal glands, and involvement of the lung is extremely rare.1–6 We report a case of pulmonary myelolipoma presenting as an asymptomatic nodule unchanging in size for 10 years after being detected.
Case report
A man in his 70s, a smoker, had a nodule in the left lower lobe (LLL) of the lung detected on a chest radiograph 10 years earlier. The nodule, 2 cm in maximal diameter, had not changed in size. The patient had never had haematological disorders including anaemia. He presented with intractable lumbago since 6 months, and MRI detected multiple bone tumours. CT of the chest indicated a large mass in the right lower lobe (RLL) and a small solitary nodule with rim-like calcification in the LLL of the lung (fig 1A). Sputum cytology showed carcinoma cells. He was clinically diagnosed as having lung cancer with multiple bone metastases. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy had no effect, and the patient died of respiratory failure. An autopsy was performed 7 h after death.
(A) Chest CT shows a well-demarcated nodule (arrow) with a thin calcifying rim. (B) The cut surface of the left lower lobe of the lung shows a mixed yellow and red–brown nodule 2 cm in size. The grey–white portion (arrow) is a metastatic lung carcinoma component. Scale bar = 1 cm. (C) The lesion is located adjacent to the bronchial wall, …
