BOF: 42
A 55-year-old male presents with a cough productive of
large volumes of clear, watery sputum. He has never smoked and has been always
careful to avoid passive inhalation of cigarette smoke. He is an accountant by
profession.
Clinical examination is unremarkable. Chest x-ray shows a
single, irregular shadow in the periphery of his right lung with an air
bronchogram within the tumour opacity.
This is most likely to be:
a)
Squamous carcinoma
b)
Adenocarcinoma
c)
Small cell carcinoma
d)
Large cell carcinoma
e)
Alveolar cell carcinoma
Answer:
e)
Alveolar cell carcinoma is an uncommon tumour (1-2 % of all
primary pulmonary tumours). It is not related to cigarette smoking. It occurs in
both sexes equally and is most common after the age of 50.
Bronchorrhoea (production of copious volumes of clear
sputum) is a feature. The x-ray features are as described.
Last Updated: 23/04/06
