Updated 13/09/2026
Photo: Computer Axial Tomography Machine, by Newtown grafitti (Flickr), cropped for layout · Licensed CC BY 2.0 · Source
Plain-language summary of research published in the Georgian Medical Journal. Written for the general public by the GMJ News editorial team.
Latent tuberculosis and lung cancer are well known to be associated — but active tuberculosis coexisting with lung cancer in the same patient, at the same time, is genuinely uncommon, and can be difficult to tell apart clinically or on imaging alone. A case report in the Georgian Medical Journal documents exactly that trap, and how a CT-guided biopsy cut through it.
A Rare, Easily-Confused Coexistence
The case involves a 71-year-old non-smoking woman found to have coexisting tuberculous lymphadenitis and left bronchopulmonary adenocarcinoma — a combination the report describes as difficult to distinguish clinically and radiologically from either condition alone, since both can produce overlapping patterns of lymph node involvement and lesion appearance on imaging.
How the Diagnosis Was Actually Made
The coexistence was confirmed following histopathological analysis of suspicious lesions obtained through CT-guided biopsy — a minimally invasive technique that lets clinicians sample tissue precisely from the abnormal area under real-time imaging guidance. The report also notes that bronchoalveolar lavage fluid analysis for Mycobacterium tuberculosis can serve as an additional detection route, particularly relevant for patients being evaluated or treated for lung cancer in regions with high or moderate tuberculosis prevalence — a category that includes much of the region GMJ serves.
At a glance — the headline figures.
Histopathological images from the biopsy, showing the tissue features that confirmed the coexisting diagnosis. Figure from the case report. Source: Georgian Medical Journal, Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026), DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19053394.
The report flags a specific, clinically consequential pitfall: when lymph node tuberculosis coexists with lung cancer, lymph nodes on the same side as the primary tumour must be examined carefully to avoid errors in TNM clinical staging — a mistake that could shift a patient onto the wrong treatment pathway entirely. Managing the coexistence itself requires running anti-tuberculosis therapy alongside oncological treatment — surgery, chemotherapy, or targeted therapy, chosen according to the cancer’s stage — rather than treating one condition and missing the other.
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Read the Original Research
Original article: Cancer and Tuberculosis in the Same Chest: The Diagnostic Trap a CT-Guided Biopsy Solved
Published in: Georgian Medical Journal, Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026)
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19053394
📄 Read the full article at gmj.ge →
Georgian Medical Journal (GMJ) · ISSN 3088-4322 · gmj.ge · Open Access CC BY 4.0 · Published by the Public Health Institute of Georgia (PHIG). This summary is an independent editorial product of GMJ News; for clinical decisions, consult the original peer-reviewed article and a qualified professional.
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