Mediastinal mesenchymoma masquerading as liposarcoma.
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Primary tumors of the heart, with the exception of atrial myxomas, occur rarely; tumors metastatic to or directly invasive of the heart are far more common. About 75% of primary tumors are benign, and 75% of these are atrial myxomas. The benign tumors include rhabdomyomas, fibromas, papillary fibroelastomas, hemangiomas, pericardial cysts, lipomas, hamartomas, teratomas, mesotheliomas, and paragangliomas or pheochromocytomas. The last 3 may also be malignant. The malignant tumors consist of various sarcomas: myxosarcoma, liposarcoma, angiosarcoma, fibrosarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, osteosarcoma, synovial sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, undifferentiated sarcoma, reticulum cell sarcoma, neurofibrosarcoma, and malignant fibrous histiocytoma. Cardiac tumors produce a large variety of symptoms through any of 4 mechanisms. Their mass can obstruct intracardiac blood flow or interfere with valve function. Local invasion can lead to arrhythmias or pericardial effusions with tamponade. Bits of tumor can embolize, causing systemic deficits when the tumors are on the left side of the heart. Finally, the tumors may cause systemic or constitutional symptoms. Some tumors, of course, produce no symptoms and become evident as incidental findings. The most useful diagnostic tool is the echocardiogram, which in almost all cases precisely locates the tumor and defines its extent. The echocardiographic appearance may also allow quite accurate prediction of the tumor type and whether it is malignant or benign. Magnetic resonance imaging serves as the next most important test where the density of T1 and T2 images may allow tumor cell type identification. With few exceptions, these tumors require operative excision. Most benign tumors can be resected completely; a few, because of their large size, cannot be, and only tumor debulking may be possible. Heart transplantation should be considered for these patients. Many of the malignant tumors cannot be resected completely, either because of the extent of local spread and invasion or because of the frequent distant metastases. Transplantation may also be an option for those with extensive local disease. The long-term results for resected benign tumors are excellent; the long-term results for sarcomas are very poor, and there are few survivors. For patients with unresectable sarcomas, radiation and chemotherapy may be used, but without great expectation of successful results.
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The present report describes the case of a 61-year-old woman with malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the left atrium originating from the left atrial free wall, operated on in emergency for a suspected large left atrial myxoma that, at the echo scan, was consistently protruding through the left atrioventricular orifice at each diastole and was almost completely occluding the left ventricular inflow, causing signs of congestive heart failure and severe dyspnea. Surgery was performed as radically as possible, but the histological examination of the specimen revealed the exact diagnosis of the neoplasm. About 75% of primary tumors are benign and 75% of these are atrial myxomas. The malignant tumors consist of various sarcomas: myxosarcoma, liposarcoma, angiosarcoma, fibrosarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, osteosarcoma, synovial sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, undifferentiated sarcoma, reticulum cell sarcoma, neurofibrosarcoma, and malignant fibrous histiocytoma. The long-term results for sarcomas are very poor and there are few survivors after several months from surgery due to the extent of local spread and invasion or because of the frequent distant metastases. Malignant fibrous histiocytoma constitutes about 2% of all cardiac malignancies, which might grow within several localized areas, occasionally in the heart. Echocardiography represents the best examination procedure for both diagnosis and follow-up of patients with cardiac tumors.
A case of recurrent sarcoma arising from the stroma of the thymus and having the microscopic features of well-differentiated and pleomorphic liposarcoma is presented. No previous reference was found in the literature to this tumor type, which could be viewed as the malignant counterpart of thymolipoma.
OBJECTIVE: The term "dedifferentiated" liposarcoma is used to describe a distinctive lesion in which a well-differentiated liposarcoma is juxtaposed with a high-grade nonlipogenic sarcoma. Dedifferentiated liposarcoma is probably the most common of all the dedifferentiated sarcomas, occurring almost exclusively in the mediastinum, the retroperitoneum, and the inguinal/paratesticular regions. We report the imaging findings in four cases of dedifferentiated liposarcoma of the lower extremities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The radiologic images and clinical histories of four patients with histologically verified dedifferentiated liposarcoma were retrospectively studied. The mean age of the patients was 61 years (range, 33-79 years). All lesions occurred in the thigh. Spin-echo MR images were available for review in two cases and CT scans in the two remaining cases. Plain radiographs were available in all cases. RESULTS: All lesions were large, with a mean maximum size of 24 cm (range, 12-30 cm), and had a significant fatty component radiologically. Both MR and CT showed a well-delineated fatty component of the lesions and a closely apposed nonfatty region. Radiographs showed well-defined bone within one lesion, bone and amorphous calcification in another, and a single punctate calcification in a third. Two patients had a history of excision of a lipomatous lesion in the region of the mass. One patient had pulmonary metastases. CONCLUSION: The potential for deep well-differentiated fatty tumors of the extremities to dedifferentiate is not generally recognized. Although the different types of liposarcoma cannot be reliably distinguished with imaging studies, a well-defined nonlipomatous mass juxtaposed with a predominantly fatty tumor is suggestive of a dedifferentiated liposarcoma.
A case of a metachronous epithelioid sarcoma and pleomorphic liposarcoma in a young woman is described. The first tumor was an epithelioid sarcoma (ES) with focal rhabdoid features localised in the left calf while the second lesion developed seven years later in the same region was diagnosed as pleomorphic liposarcoma resembling myxofibrosarcoma ( myxoid variant of malignant fibrous histiocytoma ) predominantly composed of moderately differentiated spindle cells. Multiple foci of uni- and plurivacuolated lipoblasts were seen. Following the resection of ES the patient received 57 Gy radiation to the region, therefore we regarded the second tumor as a radiation induced liposarcoma. A further interesting feature of this case is that the development of pleomorphic liposarcoma preceded by 6 months the solitary right parabronchial metastasis of ES and after 4 months of metastasectomy a third tumor developed at the site of the first lesion. This tumor showed dedifferentiation toward pleomorphic malignant fibrous histiocytoma. Our case represents a unique case of postirradiation liposarcoma developed on the base of ES.
Two cases are described of a soft-tissue sarcoma characterized histologically by the intimate admixture of areas displaying the features of liposarcoma and leiomyosarcoma. Both cases occurred in men, 70 and 77 years of age. The lesions were located in the left scrotum and abdominal cavity, respectively. Histologically, the lipomatous component in both cases consisted predominantly of well-differentiated liposarcoma with myxoid areas. The smooth-muscle component was characterized by intersecting fascicles of spindle cells displaying nuclear atypicality and scattered mitotic figures; the spindle cells in these areas were strongly immunoreactive with actin and desmin antibodies. The above tumors must be distinguished from angiomyolipoma, spindle-cell lipoma, myolipoma of soft tissue, and more importantly, from "dedifferentiated" liposarcoma. The development of dual lineage differentiation within adipose tissue tumors as exemplified by these two cases may be more prevalent than has been generally recognized, and may require the application of immunohistochemical markers for specific identification of the spindle-cell component.
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A review of all primary cardiac tumors seen at the University of Minnesota or entered in the Registry of Cardiovascular Disease, affiliated with the University of Minnesota, between 1959 and 1989. Of a total of 124 primary cardiac tumors, 103 (83%) were benign and 21 (17%) were malignant. Atrial myxomas (51 cases) accounted for 42% of all tumors and 50% of benign neoplasias. The remaining 51 benign tumors were, in order of frequency: rhabdomyomas, 14 (13%), papillomas, 12 (11%), fibromas, 9 (9%), hamartomas, (4%), teratomas (2%), lipomas (2%), mesotheliomas (2%), fibroelastomas, hemangiomas, glomangiomas, and a few others. The 21 malignant tumors, all sarcomas, were, in order of frequency: rhabdomyosarcomas, 6 (29%), angiosarcomas, 4 (19%), myxosarcomas, 3 (14%), fibrosarcomas, 2 (10%), and one each leiomyosarcoma, reticulum cell sarcoma, and liposarcoma. There were 3 cases of spindle cell sarcoma (14%) originating in the great vessels: 1 in the pulmonary artery and 2 in the aorta. The prognosis of the resected benign tumors was good, with no complications of recurrences for up to 15 years of follow-up. Tumors that could not be excised included mostly rhabdomyomas, in newborns, and cavernous hemangiomas involving most of the heart, with poor prognosis. Malignant tumors of the heart had a very poor prognosis, even when operated on promptly after diagnosis. The mean survival time of these patients was 5 months after resection, even when followed with chemotherapy and/or radiation; 26% of the tumors had already metastasized at the time of operation. Extensive resections in malignant tumors did not render satisfactory results.
The imprint cytologic features in typical sarcomas, such as malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH), fibrosarcoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPST), liposarcoma, synovial sarcoma, clear cell sarcoma and epithelioid sarcoma, were presented in comparison with each histologic feature. Cytological diagnosis of soft tissue sarcomas is usually difficult because of their rarity, various kinds, wide range of features in the tumor and similar features to those of other tumors. Based on the cellular morphology, sarcoma cells were divided into five cell types as follows: small cell type, spindle cell type, epithelioid cell type, epithelioid-spindle type, and pleomorphic type. The results obtained from "retrospective" immunostainings for decolorized Papanicolau's stained sections with a panel of markers, together with differentiation of the cell type, were useful for the cytological diagnosis of the tumors examined. Since the value of aspiration cytology is much higher than that of imprint cytology in the cytopathologic diagnosis, methods, such as immunostaining and differentiation of the cell type, are recommended in aspiration cytology to make a definitive cytological diagnosis in sarcoma cases.
The embryologic histogenesis of cartilage is not well characterized. While cranial cartilage is believed to be derived from pluripotential precursor cells of the neural crest, chondrocytes found elsewhere in the body are thought to be derived from mesoderm. As such, soft tissue tumors with cartilaginous differentiation may be related to neural crest or mesoderm. Peripherin is an intermediate filament encoded on chromosome 12, involved in growth and development of the peripheral nervous system. Peripherin is apparently expressed exclusively in cells derived from the neural crest and neural tube. A group of six soft tissue tumor types was selected because they are either of controversial differentiation or cytogenetically related to chromosome 12. A total of 41 cases was evaluated with antibodies against the intermediate filament peripherin. A panel of neural and neuroendocrine differentiation markers was used in selected cases. Three of five extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcomas showed strong cytoplasmic reactivity with anti-peripherin. No peripherin expression was noted in any of eleven epithelioid sarcomas, eight liposarcomas, seven conventional chondrosarcomas, four neurothekeomas, three alveolar soft part sarcomas, or three clear cell sarcomas. The finding of peripherin expression in some extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcomas may suggest the ability of some tumors to demonstrate both neural and chondroid differentiation.
Liposarcoma is one of the most common soft tissue sarcomas, but liposarcoma arising from the renal capsule is rare. We report a case of liposarcoma arising from the renal capsule. Preoperative diagnosis was achieved by computerized tomography and and selective renal angiography. The tumor resected with he left kidney which weighed 4,370 g. Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, bleomycin, actinomycin D, adriamycin and vinblastine was carried out. Although the patient's general conditions was fine, local recurrence occurred after 24 months postoperatively. Five cases of liposarcoma arising from the renal capsule including our case have been reported in Japan.
There are more than 50 subtypes of soft tissue sarcomas, among which 30% are associated with specific genetic alterations, including translocations. Several studies have reported associations between cancer risk and polymorphisms of DNA repair genes from the nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathway. NER involves more than 20 proteins whose inactivation leads to xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) or cockayne syndrome (CS), among which XPD, a helicase allowing DNA strand excision by the endonuclease XPG. DNA from 93 patients with synovial sarcomas, myxoid liposarcomas, dermatofibrosarcomas protuberans (DFSP), malignant fibrous histiocytomas and leiomyosarcomas were genotyped for both XPD Lys751Gln and XPG Asp1104His polymorphisms. Departure from Hardy-Weinberg was highly significant for the XPG polymorphism with an excess of heterozygotes in synovial sarcomas (p = 1.5 x 10(-5)), myxoid liposarcomas (p = 1.5 x 10(-4)) and to a lesser extent in DFSP (p = 0.028). In the case of XPD, a significant deviation was observed in synovial sarcomas (p = 3 x 10(-6)) and DFSP (p = 0.0014). When tumors were pooled according to their genetic alterations, the proportion of carriers of the variant XPG allele was significantly increased in sarcomas with specific translocations as compared to sarcomas with complex genetics (p < 10(-9)). No difference was found for XPD. Genotyping of the tumor samples in synovial sarcomas and myxoid liposarcomas revealed frequent loss of heterozygosity for XPG, mostly due to the loss of the frequent allele. For XPD, both alleles were lost with a similar frequency. Our results raise the potential implication of the XPG Asp1104His polymorphism in the occurrence of chromosomal translocations associated with specific subtypes of sarcomas.
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Classification of pleomorphic malignancies is frequently problematic and important with regard to treatment. Their histologic differential diagnosis is extremely wide, including sarcomatoid carcinoma, melanoma, anaplastic lymphoma, and a large number of sarcomas with overlapping light microscopic appearances. Not infrequently, immunohistochemical investigations of such tumors yield conflicting or confusing results. In such cases, electron microscopy remains an invaluable investigative and diagnostic adjunct, revealing certain subcellular features that indicate a specific line of differentiation. Combining ultrastructural and immunohistochemical studies is particularly useful in these tumors. This article focuses on the ultrastructural aspects of certain sarcomas that are predominantly pleomorphic, including high-grade fibrosarcoma, myxofibrosarcoma-malignant fibrous histiocytoma, acral myxoinflammatory fibroblastic sarcoma, pleomorphic liposarcoma, pleomorphic leiomyosarcoma, and pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma, as well as certain sarcomas that are occasionally quite pleomorphic, including angiosarcoma, malignant granular cell tumor, alveolar soft part sarcoma, and extraskeletal osteosarcoma. We also briefly comment on the common simulators of pleomorphic sarcomas, including melanoma, carcinoma, and lymphoma.
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We examined the mRNA expression of the multidrug- resistance-associated protein gene (MRP) in soft-tissue sarcomas and compared it with the expression of the multidrug resistance gene (MDR1), using the reverse transcriptase/polymerase chain reaction. We investigate 39 samples from 33 cases of soft-tissue sarcomas (11 liposarcomas, 9 malignant fibrous histiocytomas, 6 leiomyosarcomas, 4 malignant schwannomas, 3 fibrosarcomas, 3 synovial sarcomas, and 3 epithelioid sarcomas) and 7 benign soft-tissue tumors. All samples were obtained prior to chemotherapy. An expression of MRP mRNA was noted in 56% of soft-tissue sarcoma specimens. The co-expression of MRP and MDR1 was recognized in 15 samples (38%) (5/11 liposarcomas, 5/9 malignant fibrous histiocytomas, 3/6 leiomyosarcomas, 2/3 fibrosarcomas) and significantly correlated with histological grade (P=0.0165). A positive and significant correlation was found between MRP and MDR1 expression in soft-tissue sarcomas(P=0.0013). In benign soft-tissue tumors, 1 chemodectoma and 1 neurothekeoma showed low MRP expression; however, no case showed co-expression of MRP and MDR1.