Recurrent “pneumonia” in left lower lobe lasting for 8 years: a case report

Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC) is a relatively rare subtype of adenocarcinoma that typically arises in the periphery of the lung and grows along alveolar walls, without invasion of stromal, pleural, or vascular structure, thus preserving the underlying structure of the lung (1). Patients often present with a non-specific peripheral nodule or with a fairly specific pneumonic-type pattern (2). The pneumonic type of BAC shows lobar consolidation on plain radiography and is often difficult to differentiate from pneumonia (3,4). Many patients have the symptoms of cough, chest pain, and sputum production, which make it more difficult to distinguish BAC from infectious pneumonia and other pulmonary inflammatory processes (5). Most pneumonic-type adenocarcinomas (P-ADCs) contained a mixture of BAC and other histologic subtypes, including an invasive component (6). This case report describes a patient with recurrent lesions in left lower lung, and repeated symptoms of cough, sputum production for about 8 years, who was finally diagnosed as high differentiated adenocarcinoma