[Pulmonary "tumorlet" as a neoplastic condition?]

A 66-year-old woman, non-smoker, with a diffuse bilateral pulmonary interstitial involvement caused by multiple carcinoid tumorlets associated with a diffuse idiopathic pulmonary neuroendocrine cell hyperplasia (DIPNECH). The process has developed during the last two years of the patient's life. There were no pathologic changes in the remnant pulmonary parenchyma. Moreover, the minute typical carcinoid (5.2 mm) was encountered after extensive pulmonary tissue examination. The spectrum of DIPNECH, multiple tumorlets, and typical carcinoid tumor demonstrates a possible neoplastic character of the pulmonary tumorlet.