Thoracolithiasis

Abstract

Thoracolithiasis without any history of chest traumas or interventions is pathologically rare, with only 9 cases including our 2, reported thus far in the literature. Case 1: A 76-year-old man admitted to our hospital had an abnormal shadow in chest radiography that gradually enlarged. Serum carcinoembrionic antigen was slightly elevated during follow-up. A milky white tumor 1.5 cm in diameter with many projections was found in the thoracic cavity and removed by thoracoscopy. Histopathological examination showed the tumor to consist of fibrous tissue with fatty necrosis at the core. Case 2: A 54-year-old woman admitted to our hospital had an abnormal shadow in chest screening radiography in 1998. Transbronchial biopsy showed this shadow to be lung adenocarcinoma. A small trigonal pyramid-shaped milky white nodule 5 mm in diameter was found in the thorax during lobectomy for lung cancer. Histopathological examination showed this nodule also to consist of fibrous tissue with fatty necrosis.