title: An unusual presentation of multiple cavitated lung metastases from colon carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Consolidation with or without ground-glass opacity is the typical radiologic finding of lung metastases of adenocarcinoma from the gastrointestinal tract. Lung excavated metastases from gastrointestinal carcinoma are very rare.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors describe an unusual presentation of multiple cavitated lung metastases from colon adenocarcinoma and discuss the outcome of a patient. The absence both of symptoms and other disease localizations, the investigations related to different diagnostic hypotheses and the empirical treatments caused a delay in correct diagnosis. Only a transparietal biopsy revealed the neoplastic origin of nodules.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This report demonstrates that although lung excavated metastases are described in literature, initial failure to reach a diagnosis is common. We would like to alert clinicians and radiologists to the possibility of unusual atypical features of pulmonary metastases from colon adenocarcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Oncology A Unit, University Sapienza, Viale dell'Università 37, 00185 Rome, Italy. patrizia.seminara@uniroma1.it
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Seminara
authors.forename: Gaia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Manna
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Emiliani
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iannace
authors.forename: Tania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Losanno
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary*; D000368:Aged; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000556:secondary*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed