title: Multiple lung metastases presenting as ground-glass opacities in a pulmonary adenocarcinoma: a case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Focal ground-glass opacity on computed tomography suggests several disorders including inflammatory disease, fibrosis, or a primary lung neoplastic lesion, metastatic lung tumor.
  
  
  METHODS
  The case of a 55-year-old female presenting with adenocarcinoma of the lung is herein reported. Computed tomography of the chest revealed a primary mass lesion in the upper lobe of the right lung and multiple metastases presenting as ground-glass opacities. Macroscopic metastases were observed in the bone, the hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes, and another lobe. This case was advanced lung cancer. We assumed that the multiple ground-glass opacity lesions were metastasis in the lungs. Chest CT revealed a partial response of the primary site and the multiple ground-glass opacities after systemic chemotherapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A metastatic lung tumor showing ground-glass opacity is uncommon. It is quite difficult to distinguish between multiple primary lung cancers and intrapulmonary metastasis when patients present with multiple lung nodules. A lot of clinical information is therefore required to make an accurate diagnosis in such cases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Molecular Science, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine 3-39-15, Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511 Japan.
authors.forename: Noriko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yanagitani
authors.forename: Kyoichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaira
authors.forename: Tamotsu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishizuka
authors.forename: Haruka
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.forename: Mitsuyoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Utsugi
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Noriaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sunaga
authors.forename: Katsuaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Endou
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hisada
authors.forename: Masatomo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mori