Undue delay in the diagnosis of lung cancer due to the clinician's preoccupation with pre-existing tuberculosis

Abstract

The authors report the case of a seminomadic older patient who had already received a course of antitubercular treatment and within a few weeks of completion suffered resurgence of symptoms. His treating physician assumed it to be relapse of tuberculosis and hence re-started the patient on antitubercular treatment. Though the mass lesion on CT scan procured by the primary care physician suggested the possibility of a neoplasm, areas of necrosis within the mass led to a 'cavitary appearance', which unfortunately happens to be a feature of tuberculosis. Once the patient presented to the authors, they performed cytological investigations which established that the patient had lung cancer co-existing with tuberculosis, which indeed was the reason for his progressive symptoms in spite of antitubercular treatment.

Figure 1

CT scan of the patient showing a large mass with cavitations.