A CASE OF LUNG METASTASIS OF HEMANGIOPERICYTOMA RECURRING SIX YEARS AFTER EXCISION OF THE PRIMARY LESION

Abstract

Hemangiopericytoma is a rare tumor which is derived from pericytes of capillary vessels. It was first reported by Stout and Murray in 1942. It was considered a benign tumor in the beginning, but recurrent metastasis has increasingly been noted along with an increase in the number of case reports. Hemangiopericytoma has thus come to be treated as a malignant tumor.
In a 37-year-old female patient with chief complaints of bloody sputum and cough, a chest roentgenogram revealed an abnormal shadow in the left lower lung field, and a pathological diagnosis of nonepithelial malignant tumor was made at biopsy. Since she had undergone excision of a hemangiopericytoma in the soft tissues of her left ankle joint six years earlier, left lower lobectomy was performed under the diagnosis of metastasis of the tumor to the left lung.
There are few reports in Japan on cases like this, in which hemangiopericytoma recurred 6 years after the initial treatment. It is necessary to observe the course for a long time considering its potential malignancy. Surgical excision for recurrent metastatic pericytoma should also be recommended wherever possible.