Surgical management of leiomyosarcoma of the mediastinum

Posterior mediastinal leiomyosarcoma: Case report and literature review

BACKGROUND

Posterior mediastinal leiomyosarcoma is an extremely rare malignant mesenchymal tumor with no special clinical symptoms, which is easily confused with some common tumors in the posterior mediastinum, affecting the accuracy of the first diagnosis by clinicians and delaying the treatment of patients.

CASE SUMMARY

We report a 59-year-old woman with a space-occupying lesion in the posterior mediastinum. The patient was mistakenly diagnosed with lumbar muscle or vertebral body lesions due to chest and back pain and underwent conservative treatment, but her symptoms did not improve significantly and she gradually developed pain in both lower limbs. Chest computed tomography (CT) scan indicated the left lower lung paraspinal space and underwent standard single-aperture video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), which was pathologically confirmed as posterior mediastinal leiomyosarcoma.

CONCLUSION

Complete surgical resection of posterior mediastinal leiomyosarcoma can achieve good clinical results.

Posterior mediastinal epithelioid leiomyosarcoma: Case report and literature review

Epithelioid type leiomyosarcoma is rarely encountered outside of the abdomen or uterus. We present a case of posterior mediastinal leiomyosarcoma in a 45-year-old male with back pain and bilateral lower extremity weakness. Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the thoracic spine revealed a heterogeneous posterior mediastinal soft tissue mass infiltrating the vertebral body and epidural space with resultant spinal cord compression and edema. Positron Emission Tomography showed no evidence of distant metastatic spread. Histopathological characterization revealed epithelial type leiomyosarcoma. Despite multiple subtotal resections, radiotherapy, and salvage chemotherapy with successful restoration of the patient's neurological function, the tumor burden remained significant. The patient was subsequently lost to follow up and the clinical outcome remains unknown. To our knowledge this is the first reported case of epithelioid type posterior mediastinal leiomyosarcoma presenting with spinal cord compression and edema.

Anterior mediastinal leiomyosarcoma mimicking thymoma: A case report

RATIONALE

Mediastinal leiomyosarcoma is very rare. In this paper, we report one case of anterior mediastinal leiomyosarcoma and retrospectively review the imaging findings of previously reported cases.

PATIENT CONCERNS

A 61-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital due to the presence of a mediastinal space-occupying lesion for two years. Two years previously, chest computed tomography (CT) showed a small nodule in the anterior mediastinum. Twenty days previously, the CT examination was repeated at the local hospital due to respiratory symptoms, which showed a mass in the anterior mediastinum and interstitial inflammation of both lungs. After admission to our hospital, chest contrast-enhanced CT scanning showed a mass in the right anterior mediastinum that was approximately 3.3 × 5.2 cm2 in size that had a clear boundary, slightly heterogeneous internal density and heterogeneous enhancement.

INTERVENTIONS

The patient underwent a mediastinal lump resection.

DIAGNOSES

Finally, the pathological diagnosis was anterior mediastinal leiomyosarcoma.

OUTCOMES

The patient recovered well after the operation.

LESSONS

Accidental discovery of anterior mediastinal nodules should be followed up. Mediastinal leiomyosarcoma is common in the posterior mediastinum. Imaging shows a heterogeneous mass with a space-occupying effect that may easily involve adjacent mediastinal vessels or infiltrate surrounding organs.

Mesenchymal tumours of the mediastinum--part II

This is the second part of a two-part review on soft tissue tumours which may be encountered in the mediastinum. This review is based on the 2013 WHO classification of soft tissue tumours and the 2015 WHO classification of tumours of the lung, pleura, thymus and heart and provides an updated overview of mesenchymal tumours that have been reported in the mediastinum.

Complete resection of a giant mediastinal leiomyosarcoma

Primary mediastinal leiomyosarcoma is an extremely rare malignancy, and the only opportunity for a cure lies with an aggressive surgical approach. We report a 66-year-old woman who underwent complete resection of a giant mediastinal leiomyosarcoma located on the bilateral diaphragm. The tumor encased the inferior vena cava and compressed the adjacent structures. Using cardiopulmonary bypass with 20 minutes of hepatic ischemia, the tumor was completely resected with combined resection and reconstruction of the surrounding structures. Because of the tumor size and location in the boundary area between thoracic and abdominal surgeries, the procedure necessitated the cooperation of many expert surgeons.

Leiomyosarcoma of the posterior mediastinum extending into the adjacent spinal canal

Leiomyosarcoma of the mediastinum and primary leiomyosarcoma of the spine are exceedingly rare. In most cases, spinal leiomyosarcoma is metastatic. In this report, we describe the case of a 58-year-old man who presented with a large leiomyosarcoma of the posterior mediastinum that extended into the adjacent spinal canal. The tumor was completely resected from the mediastinum, but only subtotally removed from the spinal canal because the spinal mass had tightly invaded the spinal cord. Because the patient's postoperative condition was poor, no adjuvant radiotherapy or chemotherapy was administered. He expired 3 months after the surgery due to relapse; the spinal and mediastinal tumor remained at the preoperative size.

Primary mediastinal leiomyosarcoma

Primary leiomyosarcoma of the mediastinum is a very rare malignant mesenchymal tumor, which may arise in the soft tissue of the mediastinum or from the great vessels. Due to its rarity and nonspecific clinical symptoms, the correct diagnosis and proper management are often delayed and not well established. We report a 55-year-old woman with a large right-sided mediastinal leiomyosarcoma with adhesion to the pericardium and right middle lobe, which was completely removed via right thoracotomy along with pericardial resection and right middle lobectomy.

Primary leiomyosarcoma of the anterior mediastinum encasing the aortic arch, left common carotid and left subclavian arteries

A 66-year-old man presented with a one month history of hoarseness. Left recurrent nerve palsy and a left upper mediastinal mass were observed by an otorhinolaryngologist who referred the patient to our department. Chest computed tomography showed a superior mediastinal mass, which seemed to involve the left common carotid and left subclavian arteries from the greater curvature of the aortic arch. The innominate vein was compressed, and collateral circulation was well developed. The left upper lobe of the lung was also seemed involved. A mediastinal biopsy conducted via left thoracoscopy revealed a malignant spindle cell tumor. The mediastinum was irradiated (40 Gy), and surgical extirpation was subsequently undertaken 3 weeks later. The tumor was successfully removed without the use of extracorporeal circulation. Because only smooth muscle actin was focally but strongly expressed immunohistochemically, leiomyosarcoma was confirmed. The patient was discharged on day 14. A solitary left pleural metastasis was observed and resected 12 months after the surgery and the patient is well without further recurrence 16 months after the initial surgery.

Outcomes after surgical resection of cardiac sarcoma in the multimodality treatment era

OBJECTIVE

Primary cardiac sarcomas are rare tumors carrying poor prognosis. Resection remains the primary therapy. Especially in recent years, chemotherapy and radiation have been used adjunctively.

METHODS

All patients (n = 27) surgically treated for primary cardiac sarcoma at two tertiary referral centers from January 1990 to January 2006 were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS

There were 13 women and 14 men, with 26 resections and 1 palliative debulking performed. Cardiac explantation was necessary in 8 cases because of tumor location. Concomitant valve surgery (repair or replacement) or coronary artery bypass grafting was performed in 9 and 3 patients, respectively. Synchronous or staged resections of associated pulmonary metastases were performed in 6 and 2 patients, respectively. Operative mortality was 7.4% (2/27). Preoperative or postoperative chemotherapy was administered to 16 and 19 patients, respectively. At follow-up (median 22 months, range, 2-119 months), 12 patients were alive, with 7 tumor free. Among patients who underwent resection with curative intent and survived surgery (n = 24), median survival was 23.5 months (range 4-119 months). Patients who underwent surgical resection, radiofrequency ablation, or radiation treatment for tumor recurrence (local or metastatic, n = 7) had median survival of 47 months (range 16-119 months), whereas patients with no further intervention for recurrent disease (n = 7) had median survival of 25 months (range 8-34 months).

CONCLUSIONS

Multimodal therapy can achieve reasonable survival for patients with resected cardiac sarcomas. Patients with local tumor recurrence or metastatic disease may still benefit from aggressive treatment.

[Primary leiomyosarcoma of visceral mediastinum]

Primary leiomyosarcoma of the thorax is a rare malignant mesenchymatous tumour. Most of those tumours occurring in the mediastinum arise from the oesophagus and great vessels, whereas an appearance in the soft tissue of the mediastinum is extremely rare. The rare incidence of this tumour and its slow growth reflect the difficulties in differential diagnosis according to their histopathology and location. The most common treatment is surgical resection. The authors describe a case of a leiomyosarcoma arising from soft tissue of the mediastinum and present a review of the literature.

"Salvage" surgery for primary mediastinal malignancies: is it worthwhile?

INTRODUCTION

Indications and results of salvage surgery in mediastinal tumors are still unclear. This study analyzes a single-center experience to assess its mortality, morbidity, and long-term results.

METHODS

Mediastinal salvage surgery (MSS) was defined as surgical resection of persistent or recurrent primary mediastinal tumors after previous local treatments with curative intent or exclusive chemotherapy in case of bulky tumors. Clinical data of patients undergoing MSS between 1998 and 2005 were analyzed. Overall and disease-specific long-term survival was calculated.

RESULTS

Twenty-one patients (15 men and 6 women, mean age 41 years) underwent MSS. Eleven patients suffered from thymic tumors (eight thymomas, three thymic carcinoma) whereas 10 patients suffered from nonthymic tumors (one lung adenocarcinoma + thymoma, two mediastinal monophasic sinovial sarcoma, one mediastinal neuroendocrine tumor, one mediastinal teratoblastoma, one mediastinal disgerminoma, one Hodgkin's lymphoma, one mediastinal atypic carcinoid, two medullary thyroid carcinoma). MSS required extended vascular resection in 10 cases and cardiopulmonary bypass in one case. Median operation time was 215 minutes (range 140-720). One postoperative death and four major complications were recorded (overall mortality 4.7%, morbidity 19.0%). With a median follow-up of 30.6 months, overall 1-, 3-, and 5-year Kaplan-Meier survival was 89.7, 71.2, and 56.6%, respectively. Thymic neoplasms had a better prognosis (1-, 3-, and 5-year survival was 100, 87.5, 87.5%, respectively) when compared with others (1-, 3-, and 5-year survival was 77.8, 53.3, 26.7%, respectively--logrank p = 0.0128).

CONCLUSIONS

MSS can offer a chance of curative treatment in selected patients with an acceptable morbidity and mortality. Thymic tumors obtain the best results in term of long-term survival.