Computed tomographic characteristics of cavitary pulmonary adenocarcinoma in 3 dogs and 2 cats

Cavitary pulmonary lesions can result from the localized breakdown of pulmonary parenchyma or be caused by the expulsion of a necrotic part of a mass. The objectives of this study were to describe the clinical and computed tomographic characteristics for cases of cavitary pulmonary adenocarcinoma and find associations between the features and those identified in human pulmonary cavitary soft tissue lesions. Five cases were identified that had a cavitary pulmonary mass on thoracic computed tomography (CT) and histopathology of the lesions. Three dogs and 2 cats had cavitary pulmonary adenocarcinoma. Common features of CT in these cases included lesions in the caudal lung lobes, lobular and spiculated lesion margins, air bronchograms within the mass, pleural tags, heterogeneous contrast enhancement, and ground glass opacity in the surrounding parenchyma. The findings of this case series suggest there are similarities in the CT characteristics of malignancy in human and animal cavitary pulmonary masses.