Miliary lung adenocarcinoma: a case report

Background: Miliary lung adenocarcinomas are rare and highly aggressive in nature. There is currently no effective treatment for this carcinoma. Case presentation: We report a very rare case of a 48-year-old man with a lung adenocarcinoma. CT findings were indicative of miliary tuberculosis. Whole body bone scans and head MRI showed multiple multiple brain and bone metastases. The patient underwent two cycles chemotherapy of paclitaxel combined with cisplatin, followed by two cycles of pemetrexed plus cisplatin and Endostar; however, this was ineffective. The patient is currently being treated with icotinib. The aggressive form of this cancer in this patient may represent a new subtype of lung adenocarcinoma. Conclusion: Miliary lung adenocarcinomas have unique characteristics that need to be studied further in order to understand the underlying molecular mechanism, pattern of development and metastasis, and therefore establish effective treatment strategy.