Abstract
A 63-year-old woman with chronic obstructive airway disease presented with progressive dyspnea, episodic chest pain, a left lower lobe infiltrate and a pleural transudate. Right-heart catheterization showed pulmonary arterial diastolic and capillary wedge pressures elevated on the left side. At autopsy, she had an anaplastic carcinoma encasing and invaginating the left pulmonary vein. The pleural transudate probably resulted from a combination of unilateral pulmonary venous hypertension, and local changes in the systemic pleural capillaries and subpleural lymphatics. Invasion of pulmonary veins by tumor is observed frequently at autopsy, but is infrequently diagnosed during life.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ballantyne AJ, Clagett OT, McDonald S Jr (1957) Vascular invasion in bronchogenic carcinoma. Thorax 12:294–299
Black L (1972) The pleural space and pleural fluid. Mayo Clin Proc 47:493–506
Cruz PT, Stambaugh EF (1956) Intracardiac extension of a bronchogenic carcinoma. Dis Chest 29:442–445
Hinson KFW, Nohl HC (1960) Involvement of the pulmonary veins by bronchogenic carcinoma. Br J Dis Chest 54:54–58
Johnson J (1957) Discussion. In: Auerbach O, Gere JB, Pawlowski JM, Muehsam GE, Smolin HJ, Stout AP: Carcinoma-in-situ and early invasive carcinoma occurring in the tracheobronchial trees in cases of bronchial carcinoma. J Thor Surg 34:298–309
McDonald S Jr, Heather JC (1939) Neoplastic invasion of the pulmonary veins and left auricle. J Pathol Bacteriol 48:533–543
Mellins RB, Levine OR, Fishman AP (1970) Effect of systemic and pulmonary venous hypertension on pleural and pericardial fluid accumulation. J Appl Physiol 29:564–569
Onuigbo WIB (1972) Direct extension of cancer between pulmonary veins and the left atrium. Chest 62:444–446
Schiller HM, Madge GE (1970) Neoplasms within the pulmonary veins. Chest 58:535–537
Spencer H (1977) Carcinoma of the lung. In: Pathology of the lung, 3rd edn, vol 2. Pergamon Press, Oxford, p 848
Stinson JM, Goodwin RA Jr (1976) Pulmonary vein obstruction by bronchogenic carcinoma. South Med J 69:1482–1483
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baydur, A., Gaarder, T.D., Slager, U.T. et al. Unusual hemodynamic findings in a patient with obstruction of the pulmonary vein by tumor. Lung 162, 73–78 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02715633
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02715633