Pulmonary Infarction Associated with Lung Cancer

¹ Department of Laboratories, Harrisburg Polyclinic Hospital

In a series of 161 cases of lung cancer, six instances of peripheral lung cancer associated with pulmonary infarction were observed (3.7 per cent). The tumors were of varied cell type and included three cases of terminal bronchiolar carcinoma, two cases of undifferentiated carcinoma, and one case of squamous cell carcinoma.

The lungs of each patient showed evidence of multiple episodes of embolization or repeated infarction.

Comparison of the bronchiolar proliferative reactions known to occur with pulmonary infarcts suggests that pulmonary fibrosis with regeneration and metaplasia of bronchiolar epithelium may be important in the genesis of some types of lung cancer.

There would appear to be significant correlation between pulmonary infarction and the origin of peripheral scar cancer of the lung.