Pulmonary metastasis with an endobronchial growth pattern: report of a case

We herein report a case of a pulmonary metastatic tumor with an endobronchial growth pattern. A 75-year-old female was operated on for pulmonary metastasis which originated from a malignant melanoma of the upper gum. Computed tomography (CT) of the chest demonstrated a solitary mass in right S6 region and a preoperative bronchoscopic examination revealed an endobronchial tumor in rtB6b. A retrospective analysis of the chest CT showed a thickened bronchial wall extending to the entrance of rtB6b. Therefore, not a wedge resection but a segmentectomy (rtS6) was performed. When the surgical margin is determined, we should therefore keep in mind the possibility of an endobronchial growth pattern if only a solitary mass is recognized on the CT, even though pulmonary metastatic tumors showing an endobronchial growth pattern is uncommon.