Cytological features of lung adenocarcinoma with massive lymphocyte infiltration

Abstract

Adenocarcinoma with massive lymphocyte infiltration is a rare pulmonary neoplasm with few reported cases. It seems to have a better outcome than conventional adenocarcinomas, but it is still not clear if it constitutes a specific clinicopathological entity. We report a case in which cytological studies were available. The small size of the tumor, abundant lymphocyte population, well-differentiated morphology of the neoplasm and scarcity of atypical cells resulted in a difficult cytological diagnosis. This entity should be considered when evaluating pulmonary lesions with abundant lymphocytes. Not all carcinomas with prominent lymphoid stroma show the high-grade, pleomorphic morphology of lymphoepithelioma-like carcinomas.

Pulmonary adenocarcinoma with massive lymphocytic infiltration: a case report with review of the literature of a rare histological entity with a peculiar biological behaviour

“…Moreover, cytological diagnosis may be misleading, because of the relative paucity of neoplastic cells and the wide predominance of inflammatory subsets [11]. …”

“…In nine cases [11,12], EBV infection was ruled out by immunohistochemical or molecular biology techniques, and in the other eight cases reported in literature [14] EBV positivity was demonstrated in neoplastic tissue.…”