Contrast-enhanced ultrasound angiography-guided punch biopsy of pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma: a case report

Background: Pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma (PSC) is a rare, hidden-onset, rapidly progressive, poorly differentiated non-small cell lung cancer.Its accurate diagnosis is troublesome.Herein, we reported a case of pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma diagnosed by contrast-enhanced ultrasound angiography-guided lung biopsy and described the imaging features in this case.Case presentations: A 75-year-old female patient developed a productive cough and edema of both lower limbs, accompanied by post-exercise chest tightness and shortness of breath.Diagnosis: Neoplastic spaceoccupying lesion of the upper right lung.Interventions: The pathological diagnosis of the right lung mass was achieved through contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and CEUS-guided core needle biopsy.Outcomes: The biopsy results supported the pathological diagnosis of pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma.The typical imaging features of CEUS angiography for such a lesion in this case differing from contrastenhanced computed tomography have not been reported in previous literature.Conclusion: CEUS angiography-guided lung biopsy is a safe and effective diagnostic method for pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma, which is superior to enhanced computed tomography-guided biopsy as to the space-occupying lesion adjacent to the thoracic wall.CEUS has potential value in the diagnosis of PSC.