Background: Actinomycosis is a rare bacterial infection caused by Actinomyces. The symptom of actinomycosis is nonspecific and radiological images present as a slow-progressive mass lesion similarly to malignancies. Thus, it is difficult to distinguish pulmonary actinomycosis from malignancies. Case presentation: A 74-year-old male who had esophageal cancer and a pulmonary mass that was positive for 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography was initially diagnosed with esophageal cancer with a lung metastasis because he was asymptomatic. However, aspiration of pleural effusion revealed that the pulmonary lesion was actinomycosis. Conclusion: We present a case of pulmonary actinomycosis mimicking a lung metastasis from esophageal cancer. Diagnosis of asymptomatic pulmonary actinomycosis is difficult, and needle aspiration could be useful for a definitive diagnosis of pulmonary actinomycosis.
CITATION STYLE
Nagao, M., Fukuda, A., Matsumura, T., Kimura, T., & Seno, H. (2018). Pulmonary actinomycosis mimicking a lung metastasis from esophageal cancer; a case report. BMC Pulmonary Medicine, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12890-018-0602-z
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