Giant lamellar bodies associated with adenocarcinoma of the lung

Giant lamellar bodies (GLBs) are intra-alveolar eosinophilic concentric lamellar structures that typically have a diameter of 20–30 μm. GLBs are most commonly associated with sclerosing pneumocytoma, which was formerly known as sclerosing haemangioma.1, 2 In addition, GLBs have frequently been observed in mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT)-type lymphomas, and Perry et al.3 have suggested that GLBs may favour a diagnosis of lymphoma over follicular bronchiolitis. Other conditions that reportedly contain GLBs include alveolar adenoma,4 plasma cell granuloma,4 pulmonary alveolar proteinosis5, and Mycobacterium avium complex lung disease.6 Thus, GLBs have typically been associated with benign or low-grade lung lesions, and, to the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports regarding GLBs in lung carcinoma. Here, we describe 8 lung adenocarcinomas that harboured GLBs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.