2010 Volume 24 Issue 6 Pages 901-905
Desmoid tumors rarely arise from the anterior mediastinum. We report such a case. A 53-year-old man with a 5-month history of anterior chest pain was admitted to our hospital. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed an abnormal shadow in the anterior mediastinum. The tumor showed marked uptake on FDG positron emission tomography. We performed thoracotomy with a median sternotomy. The tumor involved the bilateral mediastinal pleura and pericardium. Bloody pericardial effusion was recognized. We excised the tumor with bilateral mediastinal pleura and pericardium. The pericardium was reconstructed with a Gore-Tex® soft tissue patch. The histological diagnosis was a desmoid tumor, 9.0×8.8×4.5 cm, and the cytology of the bloody pericardial effusion was class II. Additional therapy was performed with 50 Gy of irradiation for the mediastinum. About 1 year and 9 months later, local recurrence occurred in the upper mediastinum. He received hormonal therapy, but died 2 years and 4 months after the operation.
