Infectious Diseases That May Mimic Lung Cancer

The myriad of infections which can be confused with lung cancer includes bacterial, mycobacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections. Infections can present in various ways. When considering an infectious etiology of a lung nodule or mass, it is important to consider the prevalence of the particular disease in question. This means one must know all the particular elements of a patient’s history. One will need to know where the patient was born, raised, and currently resides as well as travel history. Regional variations may be important to understanding the possible infectious differential. Additional important history elements will be occupational and environmental exposures because these too may also produce lung abnormalities. When possible, knowing the duration the lesion has been present and the rate of growth can help narrow the differential diagnosis. Finally, it is vitally important to know the immune status of the patient; infections may have different radiologic presentations depending if a patient is immunocompetent versus immunocompromised.