Patients with preexisting lung cavities are at risk of developing intracavitary fungal colonization. Because Aspergillus spp. are the most commonly implicated fungi, these fungal masses are called aspergillomas. Their characteristic “ball-in-hole” appearance, however, may be found in a variety of other conditions that can produce radiologic findings mimicking aspergilloma. In this paper, we review the main diseases that may mimic the radiographic findings of aspergilloma, with brief descriptions of clinical, radiologic, and histopathologic findings.

Pulmonary diseases with imaging findings mimicking aspergilloma.

Unusual forms of subacute invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in patients with solid tumors.

In a patient with a medical history of cancer, the most probable diagnosis of an 18FDG-avid pulmonary mass combined with intracranial abnormalities on brain imaging is metastasized cancer. However, sometimes a differential diagnosis with an infectious cause such as aspergillosis can be very challenging as both cancer and infection are sometimes difficult to distinguish. Pulmonary aspergillosis can present as an infectious pseudotumour with clinical and imaging characteristics mimicking lung cancer. Even in the presence of cerebral lesions, radiological appearance of abscesses can look like brain metastasis. These similarities can cause significant diagnostic difficulties with a subsequent therapeutic delay and a potential adverse outcome. Awareness of this infectious disease that can mimic lung cancer, even in an immunocompetent patient, is important. We report a case of a 65-year-old woman with pulmonary aspergillosis disseminated to the brain mimicking metastatic lung cancer.

https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8601285/file/8601288.pdf

Invasive Aspergillosis Mimicking Metastatic Lung Cancer.

The present study aimed to investigate the clinical and radiological characteristics in addition to the bronchoscopic appearance in patients with endobronchial aspergilloma (EBA). Clinical and radiological characteristics were analyzed alongside the bronchoscopic appearance in 17 patients with EBA diagnosed by bronchoscopy with histological examination. The present study assessed the relevant literature and 13 males and 4 females were included in the comparison, with a median age of 59. Associated diseases included 8 previous diagnoses of pulmonary tuberculosis (47.6%), 4 previous diagnoses lung cancer (23.5%), 1 pulmonary resection (5.9%) and 1 bronchial foreign body (5.9%). The primary symptom was hemoptysis (9/17, 53%). Chest computed tomography (CT) indicated a markedly higher incidence of aspergillosis lesion in the left lung (13/17; 76.5%) compared with the right lung (4/17; 23.5%). CT manifestation included space occupying disease in 10 patients (58.8%), aspergilloma in 3 patients (17.6%), pneumonic consolidation in 2 patients (11.8%) and ground glass opacity in 1 patient (5.9%). Bronchoscopy examination identified masses in all 17 patients' bronchial lumen and 15 patients had endobronchial obstruction by necrotic material. The case presented in the current study demonstrated the merits of combining bronchosopic intervention with voriconazole. The dominant symptom of EBA was hemoptysis. Chest CT demonstrated that aspergillosis lesions were more frequently identified in the left lung compared with the right. EBA often occurs in individuals with underlying lung diseases, which cause lumen structural change or bronchial obstruction. EBA may be clearly diagnosed by bronchoscopy biopsy, although the potential for a co-exististing tumor requires consideration. Bronchoscopic intervention and anti-fungal therapy may have an advantage in the effective treatment of patients with EBA.

/pdf/endobronchial-aspergilloma-a-case-report-and-literature-37bjz19vhv.pdf

Endobronchial aspergilloma: A case report and literature review.

Endobronchial aspergilloma is a rare and unusual presentation of lung aspergilloma; the natural history for such rare diseases is poorly understood. This report presents two cases of endobronchial aspergilloma complicated by primary and metastatic lung cancer, and summarizes previous reports that suggest that an endobronchial lung cancer lesion may promote the colonialization and growth of Aspergillus species in the bronchus. Therefore, if endobronchial aspergilloma is found, the complication of primary or metastatic endobronchial lung cancer should be carefully considered.

Two cases of endobronchial aspergilloma complicated with primary and metastatic lung cancer: A case report and literature review

Two cases of endobronchial carcinoid masked by superimposed aspergillosis: a review of the literature of primary lung cancers associated with Aspergillus

John Robert Nilsson

Papers

Two cases of endobronchial carcinoid masked by superimposed aspergillosis: a review of the literature of primary lung cancers associated with Aspergillus