Coexistence of Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Pulmonary Tuberculosis Within a Single Lesion: A Case Report

Ming-Jing Yu,1,* Pei-Jun Li,2 Zong-An Liang2 1West China School of Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Zong-An Liang Email liangza@scu.edu.cnAbstract: Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and lung cancer are both common diseases with poor prognosis and high mortality worldwide. The coexistence of the two diseases has rarely been reported while their relationship has been noted. Here we describe a patient diagnosed with both TB and squamous cell carcinoma in a single lesion. The patient had a cough for four months and polypnea for two months, with a smoking history of over 40 years. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed a lobular mass in the right hilar region, which was diagnosed as TB by transbronchial lung biopsy. The symptoms and CT findings indicated the possibility of lung cancer. So, the patient underwent a further lung biopsy at the periphery of the mass, which was confirmed as squamous cell carcinoma. This case illuminated that when the mass with cancer-like morphologic features and location instead of typical TB, even the initial pathological result shows TB, coexistence of the diseases should be considered.Keywords: pulmonary tuberculosis, squamous cell carcinoma, case report