Pulmonary cryptococcosis closely mimicking lung cancer in a membranous nephropathy patient taking calcineurin inhibitor

Abstract

In patients with membranous nephropathy (MN), malignancy may be either the underlying disease or results of immunosuppressive therapy which may also lead to opportunistic infections including the pulmonary cryptococcosis. On CT scan, nodule is the most common feature in pulmonary cryptococcosis and it can mimic lung cancer both clinically and radiologically. Therefore, pulmonary nodular lesions caused by cryptococcosis may be easily misdiagnosed and require unnecessary surgical treatment. As such, we herein presented an isolated subpleural solitary nodule with satellite lesion that closely mimicked lung cancer on both contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)/CT in an MN patient under long-term tacrolimus regimen. Cryptococcosis was ascertained by the finding of oval thick-walled yeast on histopathology of the lung biopsy specimen taken during the Argon-Helium cryotherapy. Further, the pulmonary lesions progressively dissipated after antifungal treatment. Arguably, our experience may help clinicians in general and nephrologists in particular with a better understanding of the cryptococcal infection manifesting as pulmonary nodule(s) in the MN patients and contribute to more efficacious differential diagnosis against the lung cancer.

Keywords

• Cryptococcosis
• Pulmonary nodule
• Lung cancer
• Membranous nephropathy
• Computed tomography