A case of giant liposarcoma of the posterior mediastinum

Abstract

A 65-year-old female with an abnormal shadow on a chest radiograph was referred to the hospital. Chest CT and MRI showed a large foliaceous and heterogeneous mass in the left thoracic cavity. The tumor had a smooth surface and clear border and was mixed with a fat component, suggesting a liposarcoma. Although a definitive diagnosis was not facilitated by percutaneous neddle biopsy, we performed an operation with the suspicion of a mesenchymal tumor. The tumor was encapsulated with the mediastinal and visceral pleura and invaded the lung parenchyma around the pulmonary vein without invasion to adjacent organs such as the chest wall or diaphragm. The tumor and left lower lobe of the lung were resected through a left thoracotomy. The tumor was 1,580 g in weight. The postoperative pathological diagnosis was mediastinal liposarcoma, of the well-differentiated type. She followed a favorable course without adjuvant therapy after surgery. Liposarcomas usually arise in the extremities or the retroperitoneum. Primary liposarcoma of the mediastinum is very rare. We report a rare case of posterior mediastinal liposarcoma.