Primary giant cell carcinomas of the lung: a clinicopathological and immunohistochemical analysis of seven cases

Abstract

Aims: Seven cases of primary giant cell carcinomas of the lung are presented.

Methods and results: The patients were five women and two men between the ages of 48 and 72 years (average: 63 years). Clinically, the patients presented with symptoms of cough, chest pain, dyspnoea and general malaise. Diagnostic imaging revealed the presence of intrapulmonary masses; five tumours were located in the right lung and two in the left, with a general predilection for the upper lobes. All patients underwent surgical resection and staging of their tumours. Five patients were staged as T2 and T3 with nodal metastasis, while two patients in stages T1 and T3, respectively, had no nodal disease. Histologically, the giant cells were typed as syncytiotrophoblast-like or 'null type', according to the expression of β-human chorionic gonadotrophin or expression of cytokeratin alone. Follow-up information revealed that five patients died within a period of 1-3 years, while two patients remain alive between 1 and 3 years.

Conclusions: The cases presented herein highlight the importance of separating these tumours from the group of sarcomatoid carcinomas and analysing them carefully by immumohistochemical means, as we believe that these neoplasms represent a specific tumour entity.

Keywords: giant cell carcinoma; giant cells; lung; lung cancer; sarcomatoid carcinoma.