Transmediastinal primary pulmonary liposarcoma: Case report and review of management strategies

Abstract

Soft tissue sarcomas account for less than 1% of new cancer diagnoses, approximately one in five of which are liposarcomas. These tumors typically arise in the deep tissues of the proximal extremity or retroperitoneum, with just under 3% presenting as primary intrathoracic neoplasms. We present an exceedingly rare and particularly unique presentation of primary lung liposarcoma which traversed the mediastinum into the contralateral hemithorax. This report highlights the primary characteristics of the disease and underscores the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to its successful treatment.

Keywords: Pulmonary liposarcoma; chemoradiotherapy (chemoradiation); lung cancer; neoadjuvant chemotherapy; rare tumors.

Figure 1.

Axial and coronal CT Chest prior to (a&b) and following (c&d) neoadjuvant radiation therapy.

Figure 2.

Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and MDM2 staining of the initial biopsy (a&b), and HE staining of the surgically resected tumor (c).

Figure 3.

Surgical specimen. Green star marking right lower lobe parenchyma, yellow circle marking transmediastinal segment of tumor, purple square marking portion of tumor in the right hemithorax.