An observational study of giant cell interstitial pneumonia and lung fibrosis in hard metal lung disease

BACKGROUND: Hard metal lung disease has various pathological patterns including giant cell interstitial pneumonia (GIP) and usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP). Although the UIP pattern is considered the prominent feature in advanced disease, it is unknown whether GIP finally progresses to the UIP pattern. OBJECTIVES: To clarify clinical, pathological and elemental differences between the GIP and UIP patterns in hard metal lung disease. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of patients from 17 institutes participating in the 10th annual meeting of the Tokyo Research Group for Diffuse Parenchymal Lung Diseases, 2009. Nineteen patients (seven female) diagnosed with hard metal lung disease by the presence of tungsten in lung specimens were studied. RESULTS: Fourteen cases were pathologically diagnosed as GIP or centrilobular inflammation/fibrosing. The other five cases were the UIP pattern or upper lobe fibrosis. Elemental analyses of lung specimens of GIP showed tungsten throughout the centrilobular fibrotic areas. In the UIP pattern, tungsten was detected in the periarteriolar area with subpleural fibrosis, but no association with centrilobular fibrosis or inflammatory cell infiltration. The GIP group was younger (43.1 vs 58.6 years), with shorter exposure duration (73 vs 285 months; p<0.01), lower serum KL-6 (398 vs 710 U/mL) and higher lymphocyte percentage in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (31.5% vs 3.22%; p<0.05) than the fibrosis group. CONCLUSIONS: The UIP pattern or upper lobe fibrosis is remarkably different from GIP in distribution of hard metal elements, associated interstitial inflammation and fibrosis, and clinical features. In hard metal lung disease, the UIP pattern or upper lobe fibrosis may not be an advanced form of GIP.