Pulmonary inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor associated with histoplasmosis

Abstract

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors of the lung in children are a non-neoplastic process characterized by an unregulated proliferation of inflammatory cells. The etiology of these 'tumors' is not certain and often difficult to ascertain. The current understanding of the pathophysiology of this lesion is based on an abnormal response by the myofibroblast to tissue injury. The vigorous immunologic response observed is commonly ascribed to a viral or foreign antigen-antibody interaction. We describe the case of an 8-year-old boy with inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor of the lung clearly associated with newly acquired infection due to histoplasma capsulatum and we review the current pertinent literature.