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Updated: Feb 23, 2026
Use of Electromagnetic Navigational Transthoracic Needle Aspiration E-TTNA for Sampling of Lung Nodules
Published on: May 23, 2015
Primary Pulmonary Extranodal Natural Killer/T-cell Lymphoma, Nasal Type Presenting as Diffuse Ground Glass Opacities:
MyungJin Song1, Ji Ye Kim2, Ji Soo Choi1
1Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Severance Hospital, Institute of Chest Diseases, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract:
Extranodal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type (ENKTCL) is a rare type of lymphoma that accounts for only 5%-18% of all cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). In published series, 60%-90% of NK/T-cell lymphomas are localized to the nasal and upper airway. We describe a 55-year man who presented with cough, sputum, dyspnea on exertion, and a chest computed tomography scan shows diffuse ground glass opacities (GGOs), suggestive of an interstitial lung disease. He was treated with a corticosteroid and his symptoms improved. However, when the corticosteroid was tapered, his symptoms recurred. The patient underwent a surgical lung biopsy and ENKTCL was diagnosed. We present this case because ENKTCL involving only the lung is very rare but very informative. To our knowledge, our patient is the first case that primary pulmonary ENKTCL is presented with GGOs.
