Coal Worker's Pneumoconiosis Mimicking Lung Cancer in a 75‐Year‐Old Woman With a History of Breast Cancer: A Clinical Case Report
2025
Coal Worker's Pneumoconiosis Mimicking Lung Cancer in a 75-Year-Old Woman
Sample size: 1
publication
Evidence: low
Author Information
Author(s): Yeganeh Pakbaz, Farzan Moodi
Primary Institution: School of Medicine Iran University of Medical Sciences
Hypothesis
Can coal worker's pneumoconiosis be misdiagnosed as lung cancer?
Conclusion
The case highlights the importance of accurate diagnosis to differentiate coal worker's pneumoconiosis from lung cancer.
Supporting Evidence
- CWP can mimic lung cancer, complicating diagnosis.
- Imaging techniques like MRI and FDG-PET/CT are useful in differentiating CWP from cancer.
- Prolonged exposure to biomass fuel was identified as a risk factor for CWP.
Takeaway
A 75-year-old woman thought to have lung cancer actually had coal worker's pneumoconiosis, which can look like cancer on scans.
Methodology
The patient underwent clinical examination, laboratory tests, chest tomography, and biopsy.
Limitations
The study is based on a single case report, limiting generalizability.
Participant Demographics
75-year-old female with a history of breast cancer and biomass fuel exposure.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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