The solitary pulmonary nodule: not always bronchogenic carcinoma.

A solitary lung nodule (SLN) is seen in 1 in 500 chest radiographs. Benign causes include infectious granulomas and hamartomas, and less commonly, rheumatoid nodules, intrapulmonary lymph nodes and sarcoidosis. Bronchogenic carcinoma and solitary pulmonary metastases are found in 35% and 23% of SLN's respectively. Primary pulmonary non-Hodgkins lymphoma is a rare disease, constituting 0.4% of all lymphomas. We present a case of primary pulmonary non-Hodgkins lymphoma which presented as a SLN in an 87-year old lady with a smoking history of 50 pack years.