Introduction: Sclerosing pneumocytoma is a rare, benign neoplasm which may have solid, papillary, sclerosing or hemorrhagic patterns histologically, and its papillary surfaces are covered by hyperplastic type 2 pneumocytes. It is often seen in middle-aged adults and women with no recurrence and no reported deaths related with this disease. Herein, we present three cases of sclerosing pneumocytoma which were diagnosed incidentally.
Case 1: 53-year-old female patient was admitted to the thoracic unit with fever, cough, and expectoration complaints. In the computed thorax tomography (CTT) a 9x10 mm solitary nodule was incidentally detected in left upper lobe. PET CT scanning showed significant FDG uptake with a SUVmax of 2.49. The nodule was excised thoracoscopically. Intraoperatively, frozen section examination was benign. The pathologic result was reported as sclerosing pneumocytoma.
Case 2: 32 year-old female was admitted to the thoracic unit. Incidentally, a solitary nodule was detected in CCT. Located in the lower lobe of the left lung, the solitary nodule had 10-mm diameter. The SUVmax value was 1.64 in PET CT scanning. The nodule was removed by thoracoscopic wedge resection. Frozen section examination was benign intraoperatively. The certain pathology was reported as sclerosing pneumocytoma.
Case 3: 52 year-old female was admitted to our clinic with nonspecific complaints. Solitary nodule was detected with a diameter of 20x19-mm in the CCT. The nodule was located in the superior segment of lower lobe of the right lung. After that, PET CT scanning was performed and a SUVmax value of 3.12 was detected. The solitary nodule was resected thoracoscopically. The nodule was benign in the frozen section examination. The pathology was reported as sclerosing pneumocytoma.
Conclusion: Pulmonary nodules are detected easily and widely in many clinics by using CCT nowadays. The development of minimally invasive diagnostic techniques provides many advantages to approach and management of the pulmonary nodules. Sclerosing pneumocytoma is a rarely seen pulmonary disease. Usually, it is diagnosed incidentally during the radiological imaging. The diagnosis and treatment can be done thoracoscopically easily and safely in selected cases.