Liposarcoma of the chest wall - Case report and review of literature

Background. Liposarcoma of the chest wall is extremely rare. To the best of our knowledge, only 23 cases have been reported, including the present case. Case. A 39-year-old woman complaining of lumbago and right leg pain visited a local clinic. Radiological studies demonstrated abnormal shadows in the left pleural cavity, right lumbar area, and left kidney and she was referred to our hospital. A CT-guided needle biopsy of the chest tumor revealed a liposarcoma. Thereafter, since the patient experienced dyspnea caused by a rapid growth of the chest tumor, it was resected. The pathological diagnosis of the tumor was a myxoid liposarcoma that included round cell neoplasm components. The patient was given an ambulatory discharge following concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CRT) including cisplatin to the chest wall and lumbar area. However, she was readmitted 4 months later, because of multiple metastases in the lung, liver, thigh, and pelvis. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy were effective to suppress the rapid growth of the metastatic lesions, and the metastatic lesion in the thigh was particularly well controlled. Although the patient died 1 year and 2 months after surgery, autopsy revealed no recurrence in the chest wall. Conclusion. Surgical resection and postoperative CRT were considered to be effective for local control of a liposarcoma of the chest wall. Furthermore, the CRT seemed to be also effective for control of the metastatic lesions.