Primary Synovial Sarcoma of the Lung

Primary Pulmonary Synovial Sarcoma with Hemothorax: a Case Report

Background

Synovial sarcoma is a rare and aggressive soft tissue malignancy most commonly arises from periarticular tissue of the extremities. Although several cases in the literature have reported different origins, primary pulmonary synovial sarcoma (PPSS) is an exceedingly rare and underrecognized entity, accounting for 0.5% of all lung malignancies. Clinical presentation includes chest pain, dyspnea, cough, and hemoptysis. The finding of hemothorax is a rare presentation and was barely reported in the literature. Due to its rarity and aggressive nature, the optimal treatment is unclear, while the mainstay remains surgical resection with chemo- and/or radiation therapy.

Objective

To report a case of hemorrhagic effusion subsequently diagnosed with primary pulmonary synovial sarcoma with the main objective of enriching the literature regarding this rare malignancy.

Case report

A 52-year-old male smoker with a background of coronary artery disease, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus was referred to our hospital. The patient presented with a history of chest pain, dyspnea, and massive right-sided pleural effusion. Laboratory investigations were unremarkable except for anemia. Chest x-ray showed a complete opacity on the right lower zone with right-sided pleural effusion. Thoracentesis was done and revealed hemorrhagic exudative effusion. Computed tomography (CT) scan showed a right heterogeneous lung mass compressing the medial segment of the middle lobe. Subsequently, the patient underwent bronchoscopy, which showed compression and edema on the right middle lobe bronchus with traces of blood coming from the right lower lobe. The patient underwent a right posterolateral thoracotomy, a fungating mass eroding the medial segment of the middle lobe was resected that was diagnosed as high-grade primary pulmonary synovial sarcoma. Radiotherapy was instituted. The patient died after two years due to recurrence.

Conclusion

PPSS is an aggressive disease with poor prognostic outcomes, and Its presentation is almost similar to other lung malignancies. Meanwhile, there is no definitive management guideline, and most management depends on surgical resection if feasible with adjuvant chemo-radiation therapy.

A Pulmonary Zebra: Adult Primary Pulmonary Synovial Sarcoma

Primary pulmonary synovial sarcoma (PPSS) is an extremely rare tumor, with approximately 50 cases being reported in the English literature (Golota et al., 2018). Difficulties are often encountered in the diagnosis of PPSS as it can be confused with other spindle or round cell tumors, such as fibrosarcoma, hemangiopericytoma, mesothelioma, sarcomatoid carcinoma, or metastatic sarcomas. PPSS was first described by Zeren et al. in 1995. We present a case of PPSS in a 41-year-old woman, who complained of progressive dyspnea and left-sided chest pain.

Monophasic Synovial Sarcoma of the Left Ventricle of the Heart: An Extremely Rare Case and Literature Review

BACKGROUND: Cardiac sarcomas account for <25% of all cardiac tumors. Of these, angiosarcomas are the most frequent. Synovial sarcomas (SS) are exceedingly rare. We present a case of primary left ventricle (LV) SS, a form of sarcoma particularly rare in the heart. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 19-year-old male was referred for further investigation of a LV tumor, presented with a 3-month history of exertional dyspnea and palpitations. He also experienced several syncopal episodes. The radiologic examination confirmed a mass in the LV, suspected for myxoma of the LV. Histopathologic examination revealed a malignant tumor with spindle cell components, suggesting leiomyosarcoma with differential diagnosis of monophasic SS. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated reactivity of the spindle cell component with the mesenchymal marker vimentin and BCL2 protein, while the smooth muscle marker, desmin, was negative, confirming the diagnosis of monophasic SS. CONCLUSIONS: Monophasic SS in the heart is diagnostically challenging since it shares the broad list of differential diagnoses of spindle cell tumors. Immunostaining is helpful to differentiate those entities to obtain a definitive diagnosis and proper treatment.

A rare case of pleuropulmonary synovial sarcoma of the chest wall: A case report and a literature review

Pleuropulmonary synovial sarcoma is a subtype of synovial sarcomas that commonly arises from the chest wall, pleura, lungs and the heart. They are extremely rare, with only a few cases reported in the literature. It usually affects young and middle-aged adults with no gender predilection. Chest radiographs usually show a pleural-based mass, parenchymal consolidation, or a near complete opacification of the hemithorax. On contrast-enhanced CT, synovial sarcomas of the chest wall typically appear as a well-defined, heterogeneously enhancing mass with bone destruction and infiltration of chest wall musculature. MRI usually demonstrates a heterogeneous mass with areas of both high and low T1 signal intensities representing areas of hemorrhage and necrosis. We report a case of a 39- year old African male patient who presented to our hospital complaining of chest pain of 4 months duration. The plain chest radiograph showed complete opacification of the left hemithorax. Contrast-enhanced CT and MRI were then performed revealing a large left-sided heterogeneous mass. PET-CT demonstrated avid FDG uptake in the solid components of the mass with no evidence of distant metastasis._. An ultrasound-guided biopsy was performed, and histopathology revealed a locally advanced primary synovial sarcoma of the chest wall. Treatment consisted of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgical resection.

Primary pulmonary synovial sarcoma: A case report and review of literature

Primary pulmonary synovial sarcoma is a very rare, but highly aggressive tumor. Metastatic pulmonary sarcoma due to hematogenous dissemination is much more common. Hence why in any case of pulmonary sarcoma, whole body survey is necessary to exclude a primary tumor elsewhere. No clinical or radiological presentations are specific for pulmonary sarcoma hence; it is often confused with bronchogenic carcinoma. On the other hand, image-guided fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is very much helpful in diagnosis of bronchogenic carcinoma, whereas, it may be inclusive in cases pulmonary sarcomas including primary synovial sarcoma, especially in cases of huge pulmonary masses. So why image-guided tru-cut core biopsy or open lung biopsy and their histopathological examination, supplemented by immunohistochemistry are preferable for the tissue diagnosis of pulmonary synovial sarcoma, although FNAC and immunocytochemistry may be used for the diagnosis. Surgical resection is treatment of choice, if it is not possible, palliative chemotherapy may be an option. Here, we report a rare case of primary synovial sarcoma which occupied almost whole of the right hemithorax in a 60-year-old male farmer.

Primary pleuropulmonary synovial sarcoma

Pleuropulmonary synovial sarcoma (PPSS) is increasingly recognized as a subtype of sarcoma because of the recent identification of a distinctive chromosomal translocation specific to synovial sarcoma. Soft-tissue synovial sarcoma is far more common than PPSS and typically develops in para-articular locations of the extremities, affects young and middle-aged adults, with no difference in distribution between the sexes, and has well-documented radiologic manifestations. Pleuropulmonary synovial sarcoma can arise in the chest wall, heart, mediastinum, pleura, or lung, and it shares patient demographics and several imaging features with its soft-tissue counterpart. Patients present with a cough, chest pain, or dyspnea. On chest radiographs, PPSS typically appears as a sharply marginated mass with uniform opacity, based in the pleura or in the lung, and often accompanied by an ipsilateral pleural effusion. Computed tomographic images show a well-circumscribed, heterogeneously enhanced lesion without associated involvement of bone and without calcifications (except in the case of a chest wall primary tumor). Magnetic resonance imaging provides superior demonstration of nodular soft tissue and multilocular fluid-filled internal components of PPSS, in addition to peripheral rim enhancement after the intravenous administration of a gadoliniumbased contrast material such as gadopentetate dimeglumine. Current treatment consists of surgical resection followed by chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or both.