Cardiac metastasis from a myxoid liposarcoma

Cardiac metastases from primary myxoid liposarcoma of the thigh: a case report

BACKGROUND

Myxoid liposarcoma is well known to have an unusual proclivity for extrapulmonary metastasis. However, cardiac metastasis of myxoid liposarcoma is very rare, even in patients with advanced disease.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 40-year-old man was diagnosed with myxoid liposarcoma of the right thigh and treated with wide resection. Two years after the surgery, a low-density area in the left ventricle was found on follow-up chest computed tomography, and was suspected of being metastatic disease. He underwent surgical treatment, and the lesion was pathologically confirmed as metastasis of myxoid liposarcoma. Fifteen months later, he complained of slight dyspnea and developed metastatic disease in the right atrium. He was treated with surgical excision, followed by radiotherapy. Although there was no recurrence in the heart since the second cardiac metastasectomy, multiple metastases occurred in the abdominal cavity, lungs, and muscles. He finally died of the disease 2 years after the second cardiac metastasectomy.

CONCLUSION

We experienced a case of primary myxoid liposarcoma in the thigh, accompanied by ectopic and metachronous cardiac metastases. Although this condition is rare, we should follow-up patients with myxoid liposarcoma, considering the possibility of cardiac metastasis.

Liposarcoma causing left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and syncope: a case report and review of the literature

Metastatic cardiac myxoid liposarcoma is rare. We present the case of a 56-year-old woman who was admitted for angina and syncope, and in whom a mobile intracardiac mass obstructing the left ventricular outflow tract and protruding into the aortic root during systole was detected by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). She reported an antecedent of the complete excision of a myxoid liposarcoma of the thigh 12 years before. A surgical resection procedure was performed through an excision of the anterior wall of the left ventricle. The histopathological analysis of the specimens obtained during surgery revealed a low-grade malignancy myxoid liposarcoma, similar to the one resected in the thigh 12 years before. The present case is the first one to report syncope due to left ventricular outflow tract as a cause for admission. TEE was able to visualize the metastatic tumor to the heart, accurately localize its position and allow for prompt surgical treatment that produced relief of the symptoms.

Pericardial metastasis of myxoid liposarcoma causing cardiac tamponade

Although myxoid liposarcoma often metastasizes to various organs, cardiac metastasis is rare. We present herein a rare case with pericardial metastasis of myxoid liposarcoma, which expanded the pericardial sac extraordinarily and required an emergency operation because of acute cardiac tamponade. We undertook a review of the English literature regarding liposarcoma.