Endobronchial Hamartoma as a Rare Cause of Recurrent Respiratory Symptoms: Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

Most of the endobronchial lesions are malignant in origin. In rare instances, benign lesions occupying the endobronchial tree can mimic malignant neoplasms on conventional imaging tests. We present a case of a middle-aged male patient who was admitted to our hospital with recurrent hemoptysis concerning for lung cancer on computed tomography (CT) of the chest. Biopsy of the mass obtained via bronchoscopy revealed a benign lesion most consistent with lipomatous hamartoma, which is known to constitute only 10% of all pulmonary hamartomas. We also present the data of a comprehensive literature review of the epidemiology, clinical symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of patients with endobronchial hamartomas.

Pulmonary Hamartomas: A Single-Center Analysis of 59 Cases

“…The main problem in asymptomatic patients is the difficulty in distinguishing pulmonary hamartoma from lung cancer. 10 , 11 In our series, 37.3% of the cases were asymptomatic in terms of the respiratory system, 27.1% of the cases had dyspnea, 23.7% had chest pain, and 20.3% had a cough. However, these findings are thought to be due to other possible pulmonary causes and not hamartoma.…”

Endobronchial hamartoma resected via bronchoscopy using high-frequency electrosurgical snare–Preoperative strategies using virtual bronchoscopy

“…Treatment options from the 1900s to 2010 included invasive surgery such as bronchotomy, segmentectomy, lobectomy, and pneumonectomy [7] . However, the treatment of endobronchial hamartoma has advanced; currently, it is less invasive with the use of bronchoscopic excision with argon plasma coagulation, electrocautery, and tumor debulking with a flexible cryoprobe ( Table 1 ) [ 5 , [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] , [12] , [13] , [14] , [15] , [16] ].…”

“… [8] 35/F Cough, fever, Hemoptysis, SOB, chest pain LUL Smooth, reddish, poorly vascularized surface Well-circumscribed and non-encapsulated cartilage nodules, respiratory epithelium, and fissure of fibrous tissue Fenestrated crocodile biopsy forceps No Minalyan et al. [9] 49/M Hemoptysis, SOB LUL White mass Lipomatous hamartoma Forceps debulking with cauterization. No Ahmed et al.…”

A rare cause of bronchial obstruction: Endobronchial hamartoma case report

“…Hamartomas represent the most common benign tumors of the lung [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 11 , 13 , 14 ]. They are usually located in the lung parenchyma and rarely involve the bronchus [ 1 , 3 , 11 , 12 ].…”