A case of alveolar cell carcinoma accompanied by fluid and electrolyte depletion through production of voluminous amounts of lung liquids.

A patient is described who showed typical features of alveolar cell carcinoma, including production of a huge amount of clear frothy lung liquid (as much as 4 liter per day), diffuse dissemination of nodular lesions throughout the lung, and tall columnar cell proliferation outlining the alveolar walls uniformly without architectural destruction in the terminal lung unit. From the results of comparative serial analyses of biochemical components in the liquid and the serum, it is suggested that the excessive liquid production in this case should be due to abnormal secretory functioning of diffusely proliferated carcinoma cells.