Liang-jun XIE1, Jian-fang LI1, Zhi LIU2, Feng ZHANG1, Chang ZHAO3, Lu-ping QIN1, Ting-jie ZHANG1, Mu-hua CHENG1

1Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
2Department of Ultrasound, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medicial University, Guangzhou, China
3Department Pathology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China

Keywords: Cavity, 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose, immunoglobulin G4-related lung disease, lung cancer

Abstract

Immunoglobulin G4-related lung disease (IgG4-RLD) is a disease in which abundant activated IgG4-positive plasma cells and lymphocytes infiltrate lung tissues with high 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake. Although various forms of radiologic features of IgG4-RLD have been reported, cavitating mass is a rare imaging feature and should be differentiated from cancer. Therefore, in this article, we report two cases both with unprovoked cough, bloody sputum and presenting quite similar cavitating lesions with high 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake on positron emission tomography/ computed tomography, one of which diagnosed as IgG4-RLD and the other as lung cancer based on biopsy eventually. The awareness of the imaging features of IgG4-RLD and lung cancer described in the present study may help physicians to distinguish one from the other. IgG4-RLD should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cavitary lung lesions.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Financial Disclosure

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.