# Variable Presentations of Sclerosing Pneumocytoma: Two Cases Highlighting Divergent Fluorodeoxyglucose Metabolism and Carcinoid Tumorlet Association

**Authors:** Alexander N Weisberger, Jesse Liou, Hadi Shojaei, Suad Taraif, David D Shersher, Wissam Abouzgheib

PMC · DOI: 10.7759/cureus.83140 · Cureus · 2025-04-28

## TL;DR

This paper presents two cases of rare lung tumors called sclerosing pneumocytomas, highlighting their varied appearances on imaging and one case's link to a small carcinoid tumor.

## Contribution

The paper demonstrates the use of robotic bronchoscopy for diagnosing sclerosing pneumocytomas and highlights divergent PET metabolism and tumorlet association.

## Key findings

- One tumor was hypermetabolic on PET imaging and diagnosed via robotic bronchoscopy.
- The other tumor was hypometabolic on PET and revealed a carcinoid tumorlet upon resection.
- Robotic bronchoscopy is a safe and effective diagnostic tool for these tumors.

## Abstract

Pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytomas are rare benign tumors, with some cases demonstrating potential for aggressive metastasis. Patients typically are asymptomatic with a nodule/mass seen on incidental imaging; however, they can present with nonspecific symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, and chest pain. Diagnosis can only be confirmed with biopsy, and computed tomography-guided or fluoroscopy-guided needle biopsies are routinely used. Yet, with the advancement of technology and increased physician proficiency, robotic bronchoscopy can be safely and effectively used to obtain a tissue diagnosis. In this report, we present two cases of sclerosing pneumocytoma tumors. The first case was an incidentally encountered tumor that was found to be hypermetabolic on positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. It was diagnosed using robotic bronchoscopy and resected via lobectomy. The second case was an incidentally encountered tumor that was hypometabolic on PET imaging. It was diagnosed after wedge resection, which also revealed an adjacent carcinoid tumorlet.

## Linked entities

- **Diseases:** sclerosing pneumocytoma (MONDO:0006280)

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** benign tumors (MESH:D009369), Carcinoid Tumorlet (MESH:D002276), metastasis (MESH:D009362), chest pain (MESH:D002637), cough (MESH:D003371), Pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytomas (MESH:D012598), shortness of breath (MESH:D004417)
- **Chemicals:** Fluorodeoxyglucose (MESH:D019788)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]

## Full text

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## Figures

13 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12119033/full.md

## References

17 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12119033/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12119033