Pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma masquerading as pulmonary tuberculosis: incidental autopsy finding

Abstract

Pleomorphic carcinoma is a very rare subtype of pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma. It is an aggressive primary lung carcinoma that accounts for about <0.4% of lung tumors. The tumor usually recurs, resulting in a poor prognosis even after complete resection. Herein, we report an extremely rare case of an advanced pleomorphic carcinoma of the lung which was incidentally detected on autopsy as pulmonary tuberculosis. This patient did not have any clinical manifestations of either malignancy or tuberculosis when he was alive. This is extremely rare, being it an aggressive carcinoma that presents without any apparent symptoms.