A Metastatic Paraganglioma presenting as Multiple Intrapulmonary Nodules

ABSTRACT

A 24-year-old man that had previously undergone a complete resection of a cervical paraganglioma presented with multiple well-defined intrapulmonary nodules on contrast-enhanced computed tomography. All of the nodules showed homogeneously intense enhancement. The largest nodule was a hot spot on F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. It was diagnosed as a paraganglioma using wedge resection via video-assisted thoracoscopic resection. Paragangliomas are rare neuroendocrine tumors and are exceedingly rare in the lung parenchyma. A few reports have described one or two intrapulmonary lesions, including primary tumors and metastases. We report a unique case of a multiple metastatic paraganglioma in the parenchyma of both lungs.