Aggressively Quick: A Case of Negative Radiographic Evidence Progressing to a Large Lobulated Lung Mass In Six Months

We present the case of a 61-year-old male with a past medical history of diabetes, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, obesity hypoventilation syndrome, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), who developed a rapidly growing lung mass after previously having no radiographic evidence of cancer 6 months earlier. The patient initially presented for what appeared to be a COPD exacerbation, and imaging at that time showed no sign of any lung mass. Six months later, the patient returned with dyspnea and was found to have a large lobulated lung mass, possibly extending into the mediastinum. Lung malignancies include small cell carcinomas and non-small cell carcinomas. In this case, the patient developed an indeterminate differentiation of a non-small cell carcinoma, which rapidly progressed from negative radiographic findings to a 9.7 cm mass at its largest dimension within 6 months.

Recognize the significance of highly proliferative lung cancer with volume doubling time metric.Review and understand lung cancer screening, tumor differentiation, and prognostic factors.