A Case of Extraskeletal Chondrosarcoma Metastatic to the Lung Detected 13 Years after Resection

Abstract

A 48-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital. In 1968 he underwent surgical resection of a left axillary soft tissue tumor, 6.0×5.2×3.4 cm in size, which was diagnosed as extraskeletal chondrosarcoma. He had been well since but in 1981 a small nodular lesion, containing calcifications, was found on the chest X-ray film in the right middle lung field. Anti-tuberculosis therapy was continued for six months without success, and he was referred to our hospital. Metastasis was suspected and segmentectomy of right S-4 which contained the tumor was performed. The histopathological findings were identical to those of the tumor removed in 1968. The doubling time was about 4.5 years. Extraskeletal chondrosarcoma is a rare tumor and remote metastasis may develop after a long interval. Nevertheless, there are few cases like ours in which metastasis occurred as long as over ten years after the first operation. In such cases a differential diagnosis is extremely important.