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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jul 16, 2025; 13(20): 105133
Published online Jul 16, 2025. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i20.105133
Published online Jul 16, 2025. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i20.105133
Invasive pulmonary cryptococcosis mimicking metastatic lung cancer: A case report and review of literature
Cheng-Yan Gao, School of Medicine, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, Hubei Province, China
Xue-Jiao Yang, Yu-Lan Zheng, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Xiangyang Central Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Arts and Science, Xiangyang 441000, Hubei Province, China
E Guo, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Xiangyang Central Hospital, Xiangyang 441000, Hubei Province, China
Author contributions: Gao CY contributed to manuscript writing and editing, and data collection; Yang XJ and Guo E helped with case material and graphical analysis support; Zheng YL contributed to conceptualization and case supervision; and all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: The standardized BMC consent form was used with the patient providing informed consent for use of clinical images and for relay of personal clinically related information pertaining to their case for publication.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yu-Lan Zheng, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Xiangyang Central Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Hubei University of Arts and Science, No. 136 Jinzhou Street, Xiangyang 441000, Hubei Province, China. 2591797969@qq.com
Received: January 12, 2025
Revised: February 21, 2025
Accepted: March 17, 2025
Published online: July 16, 2025
Processing time: 86 Days and 23.8 Hours
Revised: February 21, 2025
Accepted: March 17, 2025
Published online: July 16, 2025
Processing time: 86 Days and 23.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Cryptococcosis can closely mimic metastatic lung cancer, particularly in immunocompetent individuals, leading to potential misdiagnosis and delayed treatment. This case highlights the critical role of a multidisciplinary diagnostic approach, including imaging, laboratory testing, and histopathological examination, in distinguishing pulmonary cryptococcosis from malignancy. Despite negative cerebrospinal fluid findings, brain lesions were present, emphasizing the need for comprehensive immune evaluation. Early recognition and appropriate antifungal therapy can lead to favorable outcomes, underscoring the importance of considering cryptococcosis in the differential diagnosis of lung and brain lesions.