A case of undifferentiated liposarcoma of posterior mediastinum

Abstract

A patient, 73–year–old female, who was referred to our clinic in Dec. 2005 for the first time for the investigation of an abnormal shadow in her left chest found by a chest X–ray. A 13 cm diameter mass was present in the lower posterior mediastinum, left side of thoracic aorta extending to widen the posterior mediastinal space but without clear sign of infiltration. The preoperative diagnosis was a nonepithelial tumor with high content of fat inside and it was thought most probably to be a kind of liposarcoma. She was operated on in Feb. 2006. There was no infiltration to the surrounding organs and excision of the tumor was carried out without removing near by organs. She was discharged 12 days after the operation without complications. The pathological diagnosis was undifferentiated liposarcoma. At present no recurrence is seen 15 months after the surgery without additional treatment. Undifferentiated liposarcoma is rare and we report this case with some review of literatures.