Intrapulmonary teratoma: Report of a case and review of literature

Abstract

Intrapulmonary teratomas are rare tumors that are presumed to develop in association with mediastinal teratomas. This report describes the management of a rare case of a benign cystic intrapulmonary teratoma in the left upper lobe in a 26-year-old lady, which was successfully treated by lobectomy, with no recurrence after 4 years of follow-up.

Intrapulmonary mature cystic teratoma of the lung: case report of a rare entity

“…Previous studies have proved that there is an equal distribution of IPT by sex for men and women [8]. Due to indeterminate reasons, the predominant location of IPT is the upper lobe as similar to our case [10]. Patients become symptomatic due to the compression of the surrounding structures.…”

“…However, findings could be misleading if the diseases present with less common signs and symptoms. Table 1 demonstrates a comparison of some typical features of the IPT case in our study with the possible differential diagnosis [10,[20][21][22][23].…”

“…Table 1 demonstrates a comparison of some typical features of the IPT case in our study with the possible differential diagnosis [ 10 , 20 – 23 ].…”

Isolated intrapulmonary teratoma

“…In the case of mediastinal teratomas, these undifferentiated cells are thought to descend along with the primordial thymus arising from the third pharyngeal pouch/ventral foregut to rest in the mediastinum. [1][2][3] These ectopic cells later differentiate into various cell types derived from any of the 3 embryonic germ layers, such as respiratory and intestinal epithelium (endoderm); muscle, bone, cartilage, and fat (mesoderm); and skin, sweat glands, hair, and teeth (ectoderm). Teratomas are defined by the presence of tissue from at least 2 germ layers.…”

“…Further migration of these pluripotent cells along the forming lung bud, also derived from the ventral foregut, is thought to give rise to intrapulmonary teratomas with or without mediastinal extension. [1][2][3] Approximately one third of intrapulmonary teratomas are symptomatic, with patients typically presenting in the third or fourth decade of life. 1 Mass effect may result in atelectasis, bronchiectasis, pneumonia, or lung abscess with associated obstructive and infectious symptoms such as cough, fever, chest pain, and weight loss.…”