Endobronchial aspergilloma mimicking metastatic recurrence in a patient with metastatic sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma: a case report

A 71-year-old male patient with metastatic sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma developed persistent cough while showing a hypermetabolic endobronchial mass on PET/CT which suggested possible cancer recurrence. The bronchoscopy examination showed a pale lobulated lesion which, histopathological examination confirmed to be endobronchial aspergilloma. The patient received antifungal treatment which resulted in both clinical recovery and reduction of the lesion. The case demonstrates how fungal airway colonization can present as metastatic cancer thus demonstrating the need for bronchoscopy and tissue diagnosis when evaluating PET-avid endobronchial masses in oncologic patients.