Abstract
Two cases of primary carcinosarcoma of the lung are described and the literature is reviewed. An autopsied 84 year-old man had pulmonary carcinosarcoma, which consisted of squamous cell carcinoma and spindle cell sarcoma with necrosis. In this tumor, the spindle cell sarcoma occupied the center of the tumor, and the squamous cell carcinoma surrounded it. In the second case, a 58 year-old man who received a lobectomy, showed a carsinosarcoma composed of adenocarcinoma and spindle cell sarcoma in the right lower lobe. Primary pulmonary carcinosarcoma is a rare neoplasm. The literature states that males constitute 85.1% of the patients who have had this carcinosarcoma, and the mean age is 62.4 years. Histologically, the major component of carcinoma is squamous cells, and the major component of the sarcoma cell is fibrosarcoma. Although keratin immunoreactivity was observed in both carcinoma and sarcoma cells, and vimentin appeared limited to the sarcoma cells. These two cornponents shared epithelial features, which suggested that carcinoma cells transform into sarcoma cells.
