Radiological-Pathological Findings of Central Sclerosing Hemangioma Initially Misdiagnosed as Papillary Adenoma by Bronchoscopic Biopsy: A Case Report

Abstract

Sclerosing hemangioma is relatively rare, the second most common benign pulmonary neoplasm (1), which is initially considered to be of vascular origin. However, recent immunohistochemical and genetic studies suggest that sclerosing hemangioma is an epithelial tumor, related to the pulmonary epithelium. Typically, this is a solitary, generally asymptomatic, and well-described lesion located in the periphery of the lung. Therefore, sclerosing hemangioma which contains endobronchial portion is extremely rare (2). The histological characteristics of sclerosing hemangioma have been well known for showing solid, papillary, sclerotic and hemorrhagic patterns (1). However, the specimens obtained by bronchoscopic biopsy may be limited to the papillary or other specific histologic patterns. It can also be misdiagnosed. Therefore, we report an extremely rare case of central sclerosing hemangioma in 58-year-old woman with radiological-pathological findings, which was initially misdiagnosed as papillary adenoma by bronchoscopic biopsy and mimicked central lung malignancy on non-invasive image evaluations.