Diagnosis of Lymphangitic Carcinoma to Lung by Sputum Cytology: Case Report

Abstract

Documenting lymphangitic metastases to the lungs may be therapeutically important. Several techniques have been described to this end. Sputum cytology, the least invasive and expensive, is the most available. It has a role that may be overlooked but that should be emphasized, since abundant malignant cells in sputum may be associated with this pattern of tumor spread. This case is the first, to the authors' knowledge, in which the pathologic findings associated with malignant cells in lymphangitic carcinomatosis were demonstrated in sputum in the absence of tumor mass invasion of large airways.