Advanced intravascular bronchioloalveolar tumour and review of reports in Japan

Our plain-English summary of Advanced intravascular bronchioloalveolar tumour and review of reports in Japan, by T. Shirakusa, M. Yoshida, M. Tsutsui, et al (Respiratory Medicine, 1989).

The study

• Authors: T. Shirakusa, M. Yoshida, M. Tsutsui, A. Ikeda, T. Hayashi, T. Eimoto, T. Kusano, H. Iwasaki
• Journal: Respiratory Medicine
• Published: 1989;83(2):127-32
• Type of article: Case report, Review
• Cited by: 4 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Intravascular bronchioloalveolar tumour (IVBAT) is a rare pulmonary neoplasm. We report the clinical and pathologic findings of two patients who demonstrated unusual clinical features. Both of them were young males who showed a large mass or consolidated shadow and small nodules with pleurisy on chest X-rays due to the invasive growth of tumours. In the first case the presumptive diagnosis of lung carcinoma was made from the discovery of atypical cells in pleural fluid. In the second case pleural mesothelioma was suspected. However, the histological diagnoses of these cases, including the immuno-histological and ultrastructural data, were reported and clinical features of IVBAT described previously in Japan were summarized.

In plain English

This article reported two cases of intravascular bronchioloalveolar tumour (IVBAT), a rare lung tumour, treated by the authors at Fukuoka University in Japan. It also summarized the nine IVBAT cases reported in Japan, including these two. The article does not discuss asbestos. In the first patient, a 32-year-old man with chest pain and fluid around the left lung containing abnormal cells, lung cancer was suspected. The left lung was removed. After nine months the patient developed abdominal symptoms and died of tumour spread in the abdomen. In the second patient, a 31-year-old man, diffuse pleural mesothelioma was suspected, and a sample examined during surgery looked most like pleural mesothelioma. The final diagnosis was IVBAT, and this patient was reported to be leading a normal life. In both cases the tumour cells stained positive for factor VIII-related antigen. Of the nine Japanese cases, five were female and six were non-smokers. The authors concluded they had no effective treatment, but that removing one lung should be considered in patients meeting certain conditions.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Report of two cases, plus a summary of the cases of this tumour previously reported in Japan
• Who was studied: Two young men (aged 32 and 31) treated at the authors' hospital in Fukuoka, Japan, together with the nine IVBAT cases reported in Japan (including these two)
• Exposure: No asbestos or other exposure was studied or mentioned. The article concerns the diagnosis and pathology of a rare lung tumour (IVBAT), which in the second case was first suspected to be pleural mesothelioma.
• Main results:
  • Case 1 (32-year-old man): atypical cells were found in the pleural fluid, and lung carcinoma was suspected before surgery.
  • Case 1: after left pneumonectomy, the patient led an ordinary life for nine months, then developed abdominal discomfort and died of intra-abdominal spread of the tumour.
  • Case 2 (31-year-old man): diffuse pleural mesothelioma was suspected before surgery.
  • Case 2: a frozen section taken during surgery suggested pleural mesothelioma, but the final diagnosis was IVBAT.
  • Case 2: after left pleuropneumonectomy, the patient was discharged and was reported to be leading a normal life.
  • Case 1: tumour cells were positive for vimentin and factor VIII-related antigen. Factor VIII-related antigen was also detected in atypical cells in the pleural fluid smear.
  • Case 2: tumour cells were positive for factor VIII-related antigen.
  • Case 1: Weibel-Palade bodies were not seen by electron microscopy.
  • Among the nine Japanese cases, five were female.
  • Among the nine Japanese cases, the most frequent clinical diagnosis was metastatic lung carcinoma.
  • Among the nine Japanese cases, factor VIII-related antigen was positive in five, and Weibel-Palade bodies were found in three. Some cases did not report these results.
  • Immuno-chemotherapy was given in 2 of the Japanese cases, with no clear benefit shown.
  • The authors described their two cases as unusual: lesions in one lung including a large mass, multiple small nodules, pleuritis, and tumour invasion outside the lung.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors stated that they had no effective therapeutic regimens for IVBAT. They said removal of one lung should be considered if the lesion is diffuse and in one lung only, the liver is not involved, symptoms are severe, and the patient can tolerate pneumonectomy. For patients without symptoms they recommended no therapy.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Lung cancer.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Neoplasm, Pleurisy, Chest X-Ray, Carcinoma, Discovery, Pleural Mesothelioma.

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