Primary intrathoracic liposarcoma: a clinicopathologic study and prognostic analysis of 23 cases

Abstract

BackgroundPrimary intrathoracic liposarcoma is an extremely rare malignancy as well as a rare histologic subtype of intrathoracic sarcoma. Relatively few reports appear in the world literatures. We explored the clinicopathologic features and prognostic factors of this tumor in this study.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological data of 23 patients with primary intrathoracic liposarcoma who were treated in Shanghai chest Hospital affiliated to Jiao Tong University, from January 2003 to March 2013. These patients were classified into three groups according to the distinct tumor locations, including mediastinum, pleura and lung liposarcoma. Also, these patients could be divided into four types, including well-differentiated, myxoid, dedifferentiated and pleomorphic liposarcoma. The influences of age, sex, tumor size, tumor location, tumor histologic type and therapy on the prognosis of the patients were analyzed.ResultsThere were no significant difference for survival among distinct liposarcoma locations. However, significant difference for survival among distinct liposarcoma types were observed. Poor disease-free survival (DFS) was observed in the myxoid, pleomorphic and dedifferentiated types as compared to well-differentiated type (P = 0.038). Inferior overall-survival (OS) was observed in dedifferentiated, pleomorphic and myxoid types relative to well-differentiated type (P = 0.027). The radical surgery was a favorable prognostic factor for OS, as demonstrated by the better OS of the radical surgery group as compared to that of the non-radical surgery group ( P = 0.029). Notably, there were no significant differences for DFS and OS in other clinical parameters including tumor size, gender and age. In addition, radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy could not improve the prognosis of the patients receiving non-radical surgery or suffering from relapse.ConclusionsThe histological type and the radical surgery are the factors that influence the behavior and prognosis of liposarcoma. In general, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are believed to be ineffective therapeutic modalities for survival. So it is essential to completely resect the primary intrathoracic liposarcoma as radical cure of the disease.

Usability of low-dose spiral computed tomography in the early detection of lung and mediastinal tumors

“…LDCT could detect these tumors easily compared to chest radiography as shown 3B. It is noteworthy that we could detect a mediastinal liposarcoma, which is known as a disease with a poor prognosis 22) at the early stage and this led to surgical resection. On the contrary, chest radiography did not contribute to the early detection of malignant tumors in the present study despite resectability being the important prognostic factor in thoracic malignancies [23][24][25][26] .…”

Primary mediastinal dedifferentiated liposarcoma: Five case reports and a review

“…There have been a number of case reports regarding mediastinal dedifferentiated liposarcoma;1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 however, few reports refer to long‐term prognosis. Coulibaly et al .…”

“…Based on the previous reports included in our review, complete surgical resection is the best method to cure mediastinal dedifferentiated liposarcoma 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. En bloc resection should be attempted in such cases if possible.…”

“…Liposarcoma commonly occurs in the retroperitoneum or thigh, while primary mediastinal liposarcoma is rare and only a few cases have been reported to date 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. Liposarcoma has been subclassified histologically into well‐differentiated, myxoid, pleomorphic, and dedifferentiated types according to the 2012 National Comprehensive Cancer Network classification of liposarcoma 6.…”

“…Liposarcoma has been subclassified histologically into well‐differentiated, myxoid, pleomorphic, and dedifferentiated types according to the 2012 National Comprehensive Cancer Network classification of liposarcoma 6. Chen et al .…”