CASE REPORT article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Imaging and Image-directed Interventions
Lung Cancer Masquerading in the Background of Bronchiectasis: A Report of Two Cases and Literature Review
Jian Guo 1
Xiaoqian Shi 1
Wei Zhang 2
Xuewei Zhao 3
Xiaohui Lv 4
Bing Li 1
1. Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
2. Department of Pathology, Shanghai Fourth People’s Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China, Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, Shanghai, China
3. Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China, Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, Shanghai, China
4. Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine,l, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China, Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, Shanghai, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract
We report two cases of lung cancer that were surgically resected from patients with underlying bronchiectasis. These cases are unique because the tumors were diagnosed neither through elevated tumor markers, hypermetabolism on PET-CT, nor the presence of typical malignant imaging features. Instead, they were incidentally identified through histopathological examination following lobectomy performed for recurrent bronchiectasis-related infections. We aim to enhance clinicians' vigilance toward occult malignancies in patients with bronchiectasis by summarizing the treatment course of such concealed tumors. Bronchiectasis maybe a significant risk factor for lung cancer. Implementing a standardized imaging surveillance is necessary for these patients. Furthermore, timely surgical intervention should be considered when clinical or radiological findings raise suspicion of malignancy.
Summary
Keywords
Bronchiectasis, Chronic airway inflammation, lung cancer, PET-CT, Tumor biomarkers
Received
21 November 2025
Accepted
20 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Guo, Shi, Zhang, Zhao, Lv and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Bing Li
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.