Mediastinal sarcomas: experience using fine needle aspiration cytopathology

A Case Report of Primary Mediastinal Liposarcoma: A Rare Mediastinal Tumor

Liposarcomas account for about 20% of all sarcomas among mesenchymal neoplasms. Myxomatous liposarcoma is a rare mediastinal tumor that seems the same as other lung disorders. The most common presenting symptoms are chest pain, dyspnea, and dysphagia. Most of the diagnostic findings are provided by radiological or postoperative histopathological tests. Surgery and chemotherapy, in some cases, are the basis of treatment. People with this condition have a higher probability of a favorable outcome if they receive an early diagnosis and treatment. We present a case of a 48-year-old male with primary mediastinal liposarcoma. The patient complained of chest pain and shortness of breath with a productive cough. Computed tomography (CT) showed a large right cystic mass on the right lower thoracic cavity. Surgery was done, and a histopathological examination of the surgical specimen confirmed the diagnosis.

A case report of a giant middle mediastinal leiomyosarcoma

Primary mediastinal leiomyosarcomas are extremely rare soft tissue tumors, accounting for less than 15% of all primary mediastinal sarcomas. Middle mediastinal tumors are very rare, with a prevalence of 0.1% in healthy individuals. Usually, mediastinal leiomyosarcoma originates and involves mediastinal structures such as oesophagus, heart or great vessels. Here we report the rare case of a giant middle mediastinal leiomyosarcoma without involvement of any surrounding structures in a 70 years old female. Main related symptoms were cough and increasing dyspnea. Imaging work-up showed an 11-cm giant middle mediastinal tumor located in the subcarinal space and compressing the oesophagus. Cytopathologic examination of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration diagnosed leiomyosarcoma. The tumor was completely removed through a right posterolateral thoracotomy in the fifth intercostal space. None of the surrounding structures were involved by the tumor intraoperatively. The patient underwent adjuvant chemoradiation as advised by the sarcoma tumor board (5 cycles of dacarbazine and doxorubicin followed by 60 Gy). At last follow-up, no evidence of recurrence was seen on imaging ten months after surgery. This rare case confirms that giant middle mediastinal leiomyosarcoma may not involve surrounding mediastinal structure and that resection can be completely and safely done without the need for resection of neighboring structures. The relevant literature on the subject is reviewed here.

Approach to Mediastinal Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology

Mediastinal fine needle aspirations are routinely encountered in cytopathology practice. Mediastinal lesions may pose diagnostic challenges owing to their rarity and locations associated with the complexity of the mediastinal anatomic structures in the thoracic cavity. Diagnosing mediastinal lesions and guiding patient management usually require correlating with clinical and radiologic findings, being familiar with cytomorphologic features and appropriately triaging the diagnostic material for ancillary testing. This review proposes a practical approach to interpret mediastinal fine needle aspirations and emphasizes potential diagnostic pitfalls for mediastinal lesions including benign cysts, thymic neoplasms, lymphoproliferative disorders, germ cell tumors, mesenchymal tumors, and metastatic tumors.