[Simultaneous pulmonary tuberculosis and bronchial cancer. A diagnostic pitfall]

Simultaneous development of unsuspected primary cancer in close vicinity to an active tuberculous process of the lung can seriously complicate diagnosis. In most reported cases, a long interval had elapsed before carcinoma was suspected. Such a case is described. Initially a 72-year-old man with carvernous tuberculosis was successfully treated with adequate antituberculous drugs. After 18 weeks of treatment, the patient's pulmonary parenchymal status showed no further improvement, and after 25 weeks the lung infiltration was seen to be slowly increasing. Thoracotomy performed after 40 weeks of treatment revealed inoperable squamous cell carcinoma and apparently healed tuberculosis.