Intravascular bronchioloalveolar tumor: CT and pathologic correlation

Intravascular bronchioloalveolar tumor of the lung is an unusual neoplasm that usually presents as multiple pulmonary nodules in asymptomatic young women. The course of the disease is often indolent with some patients eventually dying of respiratory failure secondary to progressive tumor infiltration of the pulmonary interstitium. The cell of origin appears to be an endothelial cell, and epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of liver or other soft tissues is a pathologically identical neoplasm. Open lung biopsy is necessary for diagnosis. The radiologist should be aware of this tumor and suggest the diagnosis in the appropriate clinical setting.