Liposarcoma of the Neck

Giant retropharyngeal liposarcoma

“…The mean age of first presentation in the patients is 59.9(+/−16 standard deviation). A slight male predilection is seen (5 male/4 female), according with the literature on liposarcomas of other sites (unlike lipomas, which predominate in females) 1 . Common presenting symptoms of reported cases are dysphagia (5/9 cases), dysphonia (3/9), neck swelling (3/9), obstructive sleep apnea (3/9), swallowing cough (1/9), and globus pharyngeus (1/9).…”

“…Although 4/9 cases reported (including our case) 2,3,5 had a mediastinal extension, an exclusive cervicotomic approach has been performed in seven out of eight cases, for the absence of infiltrates and easy dissectability from surrounding tissue. According to the behaviour of liposarcomas from other sites, of the nine retropharyngeal liposarcomas reported, 4/9 recurred (including our case) 1,6,8 . To date, the postoperative treatment of head and neck liposarcoma has been based on the results achieved with tumours of the extremities of the trunk, and has not changed significantly in recent years 1 .…”

“…According to the behaviour of liposarcomas from other sites, of the nine retropharyngeal liposarcomas reported, 4/9 recurred (including our case) 1,6,8 . To date, the postoperative treatment of head and neck liposarcoma has been based on the results achieved with tumours of the extremities of the trunk, and has not changed significantly in recent years 1 . The effectiveness of postoperative radiotherapy in well‐differentiated liposarcomas has not yet been demonstrated 1,6 .…”

“…Common presenting symptoms of reported cases are dysphagia (5/9 cases), dysphonia (3/9), neck swelling (3/9), obstructive sleep apnea (3/9), swallowing cough (1/9), and globus pharyngeus (1/9). The hypothesis of a malignant transformation from a lipoma has been suggested by some authors 1,6 …”

“…It is divided into two histological subtypes: ‘lipoma‐like’, which has occasional lipoblasts and minor areas of pleomorphism, and ‘sclerosing’, which has more regions of fibrosis 6 . These well‐differentiated tumours have the most favourable clinical course compared with the other subtypes of liposarcoma and rarely metastasize, 1 but, like the other subtypes, well‐differentiated liposarcomas have the propensity for local recurrences 3 . The most common sites of occurrence of head and neck liposarcomas are the cheek (14%), anterior neck (13%), larynx and pyriform sinus (13%), orbit (8%), and supraglottis (7%) 1 …”