[Case of pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy diagnosed by transbronchial lung biopsy]

A 69-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with dyspnea on effort. A chest high resolution CT showed enlargement of peripheral vessels and small nodules in both lower and peripheral lung fields. We diagnosed this case as pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy, because histological findings of specimen obtained by transbronchial lung biopsy revealed microscopic tumor emboli and intimal proliferation in small pulmonary vessels. After conducting systemic examinations, it was found that the patient had gastric cancer. Generally it is difficult to diagnose pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy in patients during life. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of pulmonary tumor thronbotic microangiopthy diagnosed on the basis of transbronchial lung biopsy.