Pulmonary placental transmogrification associated with adenocarcinoma of the lung: A case report with a comprehensive review of the literature

Abstract

Pulmonary placental transmogrification (PT) is a rare entity with less than 40 cases reported in the literature. Most reported cases are associated with either bullous emphysema or with pulmonary fibrochondromatous hamartomas. We present only the second case of PT associated with adenocarcinoma of the lung. A 67-year-old female with multiple chronic medical ailments presented with shortness of breath and was found to have a 6-cm mass in the upper lobe of her right lung. A computed tomography (CT) guided core biopsy was performed that showed a well-differentiated adenocarcinoma. Interestingly the normal lung tissue showed placental villous architecture. A unique feature of our case is that the diagnosis was made on a needle core biopsy, unlike all the other cases in the literature. We also provide a comprehensive review of this rare entity.

Case report: Giant cystic lesions with a rare pulmonary diagnosis

“…It has never been mentioned in a pediatric patient and previously described age ranges were in the third to seventh decades of life. Radiographically, it can appear as bullous emphysema, thin‐walled cystic lesions, or nodular lesions . Definitive diagnosis is obtained through histopathology, showing papillary structures resembling placental chorionic villi.…”

“…Definitive diagnosis is obtained through histopathology, showing papillary structures resembling placental chorionic villi. Treatment is resection of the affected areas and is considered curative except in two cases that described malignant transformation . Resection usually results in improvement of respiratory symptoms and lung function testing.…”

“…Radiographically, it can appear as bullous emphysema, thin-walled cystic lesions, or nodular lesions. 2 Definitive diagnosis is obtained through histopathology, showing papillary structures resembling placental chorionic villi. Treatment is resection of the affected areas and is considered curative except in two cases that described malignant transformation.…”

“…Treatment is resection of the affected areas and is considered curative except in two cases that described malignant transformation. 2 Resection usually results in improvement of respiratory symptoms and lung function testing. Our patient showed minimal changes in symptoms or changes in lung function.…”

One Year with Autopsy and Case Reports: An Immense Educational Experience

“…Similarly, the clinical cases are also of great educational value. Only within the last volume of the journal, there were some clinical case reports of rare entities including, undifferentiated carcinoma of the pancreas with osteoclast-like giant cells, 18 concurrent BRAF V600E mutation driven hairy cell leukemia and melanoma, 19 spontaneous regression of a pulmonary adenocarcinoma, 20 phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor, 21 perianal Langerhans cell histiocytosis, 22 pulmonary placental transmogrification, 23 native-valve endocarditis caused by Achromobacter xylosoxidans , 24 centronuclear myopathy 25 and migrainous infarction. 26 Even if the cases are not rare entities, the intrigue discussions are always worth reading.…”