Primary Acinic Cell Carcinoma of the Lung: A Case Report

Abstract

Primary acinic cell carcinoma (ACC) of the lung is very rare and this tumor is thought to arise from pluripotent cells of the submucosal glands of the tracheobronchial tree. We report here on a case of primary ACC of the lung in a 68-year-old man who had a solitary pulmonary nodule in the left lower lobe. The patient was symptomless and the lesion was found on a chest X-ray taken during a regular health checkup. The video assisted thoracoscopic surgery wedge resection revealed an ovoid yellow tan solid mass that was 1.8 cm at the largest diameter. Microscopically, the neoplastic cells grew in solid sheets of round cells with eccentric nuclei and abundant basophilic granular cytoplasm. There were no mitotic figures or areas of pleomorphic or anaplastic cells. Immunohistochemical staining for cytokeratin (AE1/AE3) was positive, but the staining for chromogranin A and CD56 was negative. Ultrastructural examination revealed polyhedral cells with many zymogen granules of varying electron density. The patient is well 4 months postoperatively.