Pulmonary Carcinosarcoma Research Articles

Pulmonary carcinosarcoma masquerading as a cryptic disseminated malignancy

Pulmonary carcinosarcoma is an aggressive rare malignant tumor comprising a mixture of carcinoma and sarcoma components containing differentiated mesenchymal elements, such as malignant cartilage, bone, and skeletal muscle. We report a case which presented with unusual clinical features and proved cryptic until death. At autopsy, it was a stage IV lung malignancy and histopathology revealed a carcinosarcoma comprising an adenocarcinoma and an osteosarcoma with metastasis to the heart, lymph nodes, and both adrenals. To our knowledge, this is the first case of this subtype with metastasis to the heart. The present case had an unusual clinical presentation and its elusive nature towards diagnosis despite dissemination is noteworthy and unique in the literature.

Clinical characteristics and prognosis analysis of pulmonary carcinosarcoma (a report of 48 cases)

Pulmonary carcinosarcoma (PCS) is a rare pulmonary mixed malignant tumor. The aim of this study is to explore the clinical characteristics and prognosis of 48 patients with PCS. The data of 48 patients with PCS from 1986 to 2004 were analysed retrospectively. Then their prognostic factors were analysed statistically. PCS occurred usually in males over 50 years old, often in the right lungs. The clinical and radiographic characteristics of PCS were similar to primary non-small cell lung cancer. Its diagnosis was mainly verified by postoperative pathologic findings and immunohistochemical staining. The 1-, 3- and 5-year survival rate was 77.1%, 49.5% and 22.7% respectively. The multivariate prognosis analysis and Chi-square test showed that TNM stage was an independent prognostic factor. TNM stage is an independent prognostic factor for PCS, so it is necessary to operate surgically in early stage to prolong the survival time of patients.

Lung carcinosarcoma with liposarcoma element: Autopsy case

Pulmonary carcinosarcoma, consisting of both carcinoma and sarcoma with a heterologous element, is a rare subtype, comprising approximately 0.3% of primary lung neoplasia. A 57-year-old man was admitted because of severe dyspnea. A tumor wholly occupying the right thorax was biopsied and diagnosed as pleomorphic sarcoma. The tumor did not respond to chemotherapy, and the patient died of respiratory failure and sepsis. At autopsy, pleomorphic sarcoma was histologically dominant and contained a liposarcoma element confirmed by histocytological and electron microscopic analysis. Adenocarcinoma component with papillary and tubular patterns was confined to the medial lesion of the right lower lobe (3x8 cm), which was found in the chest X-ray 3 years before admission, and had continuously merged with the sarcomatous lesion through the histological transition of both components. Aggressive and rapid growth of the sarcoma derived from the earlier adenocarcinoma became prevalent and contributed to the severe clinical outcome. This is the first documented case of primary lung carcinosarcoma with a liposarcoma element.

Establishment in Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Mice of Subrenal Capsule Xenografts and Transplantable Tumor Lines from a Variety of Primary Human Lung Cancers: Potential Models for Studying Tumor Progression–Related Changes

Lung cancer is a biologically diverse disease and relevant models reflecting its diversity would facilitate the improvement of existing therapies. With a view to establishing such models, we developed and evaluated xenografts of a variety of human lung cancers. Using nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency mice, subrenal capsule xenografts were generated from primary lung cancer tissue, including moderately and poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, adenosquamous carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, large cell undifferentiated carcinoma, and carcinosarcoma. After 4 to 12 weeks, xenografts were harvested for serial transplantation and comparison with the original tissue via histologic, chromosomal, and cytogenetic analyses. Xenografts were successfully established. H&E staining showed that xenografts retained major histologic features of the original cancers. Immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization confirmed the human origin of the tumor cells and development in xenografts of murine supportive stroma. Four transplantable lines were developed from rapidly growing tumors (>5 generations), i.e., a small cell lung carcinoma, large cell undifferentiated carcinoma, pulmonary carcinosarcoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. Analyses including spectral karyotyping, comparative genomic hybridization, and fluorescence in situ hybridization, revealed that the xenografts were genetically similar to the original tumors, showing chromosomal abnormalities consistent with karyotypic changes reported for lung cancer. The subrenal capsule xenograft approach essentially provides a living tumor bank derived from patient material and a means for isolating and expanding specific cell populations. The transplantable tumor lines seem to provide good models for studying various aspects of tumor progression and a platform for developing novel therapeutic regimens, with the possibility of patient-tailored therapies.

胃転移を伴う,いわゆる肺癌肉腫の長期生存例

症例は71歳,女性.検診にて左肺S^<1+2>に類円形の異常陰影を指摘された.近医で精査を行ったが確定診断得られず,当科紹介となった.腫瘍は増大傾向にあったため,肺癌疑いのもと,手術を施行した.術中迅速病理では,大細胞癌〜低分化型腺癌との診断が得られ,左上葉切除術・縦隔リンパ節郭清(ND2a)を施行した.術後の病理診断では,いわゆる肺癌肉腫との診断であった.肺切除術後3ヵ月経過時,下血と貧血の進行があった.精査にて胃体中部に隆起性腫瘍を認め,生検にて肺病変と同一の組織型と診断し,胃全摘術を施行した.肺切除術前の胃内視鏡検査では胃体中部にDelleを有する粘膜下腫瘍を認めており,肺切除の時点で既に胃転移があったと考えられた.肺切除術後5年が経過した現在,非担癌生存中である.

Retrospective analysis of pulmonary sarcoma and blastoma with review of literatures

Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary sarcoma and blastoma. Methods: Seven cases of pulmonary sarcoma (including 1 case of pulmonary carcinosarcoma, 1 case of pulmonary malignant fibroneuroma, 1 case of pulmonary malignant fibrous tissue tumor and 1 case of pulmonary blastoma from August 1995 to June 2002 in our hospital) were retrospectively summarized the histological characteristics, clinical features, diagnosis and treatment. Results: Pulmonary sarcoma and blastoma both are rare malignant tumors and can be easily misdiagnosed or mistreated. The main symptoms of both diseases are cough and expectoration. X ray or CT shows node or focus in lung. They both are diagnosed by histological pathology. Because the symptoms of these diseases are not typical, it is difficult for patients to be diagnosed without pathology. Conclusion: These two kinds of diseases are often easy to be misdiagnosed. Early diagnosis and treatment are important to improve the efficiency of treatment. Surgical resection is the best method of treatment, and it is important to combine with chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

Carcinosarcoma pulmonar con metástasis cutánea

We describe a case of lung carcinosarcoma in a 70-years-old patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Pulmonary carcinosarcoma is an unfrequent lung tumor, and usually histologic diagnosis is carried out by microscopic examination of the resected tumor. We observed these situation in our patient that was diagnosed of squamous cell carcinoma before the surgical resection by transthoracic needle aspiration. One month after surgery he developed a lesion in the infranasal area that was identified as a skin metastasis of lung carcinosarcoma. There is no previously reported case of skin metastasis of this rare tumor of the lung, that contain an admixture of malignant epithelial and mesenchymal elements. Clinical symptoms of pulmonary carcinosarcomas are not different from other lung tumors. The treatment when it is possible is the surgical resection of the tumor. We review histologic, diagnostic and therapeutic features of lung carcinosarcomas.

Molecular pathogenesis of pulmonary carcinosarcoma as determined by microdissection-based allelotyping.

Pulmonary carcinosarcoma is a rare, biphasic tumor composed of malignant epithelial and mesenchymal elements. Its histogenesis is controversial in light of the presence of divergent cell lineages and the clonal nature of malignancy. To address these issues, we performed an extensive comparative genotypic analysis using microdissection to secure representative mesenchymal and epithelial components from each of six cases of pulmonary carcinosarcoma. Loss of heterozygosity was analyzed with a panel of 12 polymorphic microsatellite markers designed to indicate allelic loss and situated in proximity to known tumor suppressor genes located on 1p, 3p, 5q, 9p, 10q, and 17p. In accordance with the relatively greater biologic aggressiveness of this tumor type, both the epithelial and mesenchymal components showed extensive allelic loss, most notably for 3p, 5q, and 17p. More importantly, we found overall equivalent patterns of acquired allelic loss between the two components on an individual case basis, strongly supporting the monoclonal origin of these neoplasms. Minor differences in the allelic fingerprint between the two cell lineages could be explained by progressive accumulation of allelic loss alterations that appear to occur more frequently in the mesenchymal component of the tumor. The data support the efficacy of microdissection-based allelic fingerprinting to delineate the relationship between different morphologic components of a single neoplasm.

A Case of Pulmonary Carcinosarcoma which Metastasize to Pelvic Cavity After Left Pneumonectomy

Pulmonary carcinosarcoma(Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the lung) is a rare pulmonary malignancy, which is defined as having an admixture of both carcinomatous and sarcomatous components. Pulmonary carcinosarcoma occurs most frequently in males between 50 and 80 years of age. It predominantly affects the upper lobe and/or the principal bronchi, and is associated with a history of smoking. Here, we report a case of pulmonary carcinosarcoma with a left lobe atelectasis due to an endobronchial mass in a 56-year-old male. After a left pneumonectomy, the pathologic stage was IIb (). Four months later, an abdominal mass was observed and exploratory laparotomy revealed metastases of the pulmonary carcinosarcoma to the pelvic cavity.

Pulmonary carcinosarcoma: A clinical analysis of six operated cases

Pulmonary carcinosarcoma: A clinical analysis of six operated cases

INTUSSUSCEPTION CAUSED BY METASTASIS TO THE SMALL INTESTINE FROM LUNG CANCER-A CASE REPORT-

We experienced a case of intussusception caused by metastasis to the small intestine from lung cancer. A 68-year-old man who stayed at the hospital after an excision of a metastatic tumor in the thoracic wall associated with the lib presented with abdominal distention and vomiting, There was a previous history of undergoing an excision of the right lower lobe with the rib for a lung cancer 7 months before admission when it was diagnosed as carcinosarcoma histopathologically. Abdominal simple x-ray examination revealed fluid level formation and CT scan showed intussusception of the small intestine. Laparotomy was performed, and intussusception headed by a tumor in the jejunum about 160cm from the Treiz's ligament was found which was resected. The tumor had the maximum diameter of 13cm and was diagnosed as metastasis of pulmonary carcinosarcoma histopathologically. The patient died of carcinomatous pleurisy on the 6th week after the operation. There have been 35 cases of intussusception due to small bowel metastasis of pulmonary cancer, including this case, as far as we could review. All patients were male and in most patients radical resection was impossible. The prognoses were poor and most patients died within 6 months after eperation for intussusception.

Pulmonary carcinosarcoma: radiologic and pathologic findings in three patients.

The purpose of this study was to describe the radiologic and pathologic features of pulmonary carcinosarcoma in three patients. The tumors measured 9-14 cm in diameter, had inhomogeneous contrast enhancement, and in two cases had invaded the mediastinum or chest wall extensively. Carcinosarcomas are rare tumors that tend to be large, necrotic, enhancing, and locally invasive.

P53 and K-ras mutational genotyping in pulmonary carcinosarcoma, spindle cell carcinoma, and pulmonary blastoma: implications for histogenesis.

In an attempt to understand the molecular pathogenesis of biphasic pulmonary neoplasms, the authors studied 25 cases of carcinosarcoma, spindle cell carcinoma, and pulmonary blastoma using a combined immunohistochemical and topographic genotyping approach for the presence of p53 abnormalities within the different epithelial and mesenchymal components of these tumors. Genotyping involved a search for point mutational damage in p53 exons 5-8, which was correlated with p53 immunoreactivity. This analytical approach demonstrated p53 missense point mutations in four of nine cases of spindle cell carcinoma with a 100% concordance rate between p53 immunopositivity and the presence of DNA mutational damage. One of six carcinosarcomas, heterologous in type, exhibited a p53 mutation. The concordance rate among carcinosarcomas was also 100%. However, the concordance rate among classic biphasic pulmonary blastomas was only 43%, with one of seven cases demonstrating a p53 mutation by DNA genotyping. The lack of concordance in pulmonary blastomas was possibly due to the existence of genotypically distinct subsets of tumor cells likely bearing mutations among largely nonmutated cells. In a similar fashion, among three well-differentiated fetal type adenocarcinomas, no p53 mutations were detected despite the presence of focal p53 immunopositivity in one of the cases. No K-ras mutations were detected in any of the 25 tumors examined. Monoclonal histogenesis from a single totipotential cell in a subset of these neoplasms (six of 22 cases) was supported by the finding of p53 overexpression and identical p53 mutational genotype in both the epithelial and spindle elements of the tumors. Furthermore, the finding of a small percentage of p53-positive tumor cells within one or both components suggests late acquisition of p53 mutational change in a subset of pulmonary blastomas.

Pulmonary carcinosarcoma: diagnostic problems and determinants of the prognosis.

Bronchopulmonary carcinosarcoma is a very rare tumor and the prognosis of patients with carcinosarcoma is assessed as unfavourable. The problems concerning diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis after resection treatment are discussed with reference to our seven cases and with consideration of the pertinent literature. The retrospective data of seven patients with pulmonary carcinosarcoma were analysed. All were staged postoperatively according to the international TNM staging system. The diagnosis was verified by immunohistochemical investigation. The prognosis of the patients with carcinosarcoma was compared with the prognosis of patients with non-small cell carcinoma of the lung. Whether lung resection is the treatment of choice for these patients is of no relevance, because in most cases the preoperative diagnosis is incomplete, as only one component of the tumor, namely the epithelial one, is found in the biopsy specimen. The complete and correct diagnosis in five of the seven cases was not made before the resection had been performed and in the remaining two patients it was only made when tumor recurrence or metastases occurred. The prognosis of patients with carcinosarcoma of the lung is assessed to be comparable to that of patients with other pulmonary carcinoma: in this study survival times ranged from only 3 months (T2N3) to 4 years 6 months (T3N1). The causes of death of the patients with carcinosarcoma were local recurrence in four patients and metastases at distant sites in two. Two recurrent tumors as well as the metastases consisted only of the sarcoma component of the primary tumor histologically. One may suggest that the prognosis of carcinosarcoma might be determined by the sarcoma component of the tumor. Therefore the generally accepted therapies of soft tissue sarcomas should be adopted for the follow-up treatment of patients with pulmonary carcinosarcoma.

A CASE OF PULMONARY CARCINOSARCOMA WITH OSTEOSARCOMATOUS COMPONENT

We report a case of rapidly growing pulmonary carcinosarcoma admixed with osteosarcomatous component. A 66-year-old male was admitted to our hospital because of hemosputum. A chest X-ray film and CT showed a tumor mesured 9×8cm in the middle field of the left lung. Squamous cell carcinoma was suspected by cytological examination of sputum. Left upper lobectomy and partial resection of the left lower lobe were performed. Histologically, the tumor was composed of carcinomatous (squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma) and sarcomatous (fibrosarcoma and osteosarcoma) elements, and there was an apparent transition of the squamous cell carcinoma into the fibrosarcoma, so the patient was diagnosed as so-called carcinosarcoma of the lung. Postoperative chemotherapy was performed, but the patient died seven months after the operation. In a review of 25 Japanse cases of pulmonary carcinosarcoma described in the literature since 1974, only 4 cases including our case had both the transposition between two elements and sarcomatous component with obvious differentiation. We thought that these cases occupied an intermediate position, between the so-called carcinosarcoma and true carcinosarcoma. Because some cases could not be classified according to the conventional pathological classification, we think that pulmonary carcinosarcoma might be classified by some other different method.

A Case of Pulmonary Carcinosarcoma Associated with Alternate Atelectasis

Carcinosarcoma is an uncommon pulmonary malignancy characterized by carcinomatous parenchyma and sarcomatous stroma. Pulmonary carcinosarcoma represented about 1% of the resected lung tumors. The predominant clinical features are productive cough, chest pain, dyspnea, hemoptysis, bronchiectasis, and atelectasis, but alternate atelectasis is rare. We report a case of pulmonary carcinosarcoma associated with alternate atelectasis of the right upper and lower lobe.

True Pulmonary Carcinosarcoma (Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Chondrosarcoma) A Case Report

True pulmonary carcinosarcoma (squamous cell carcinoma and chondrosarcoma) originating in the right lower lobe in a 62-year-old Japanese male is reported. The tumor, measuring 5.5 x 3.5 x 3.5 cm, was markedly necrotic and its apex protruded into the bronchial lumen. Light microscopy showed that the tumor was composed of squamous cell carcinoma with sarcomatous spindle or polygonal cell proliferation and true chondrosarcoma. Immunohistochemically, the cytoplasm of numerous cells of the squamous cell carcinoma component was stained with anti-cytokeratin (PKK 1) and the cytoplasmic membrane with anti-epithelial membrane antigen (EMA). Although sarcomatous regions were stained with anti-vimentin (vimentin) and no tumor cells were reactive for EMA, a few tumor cells were positive for PKK 1. The cytoplasm of numerous chondrosarcoma cells was positively stained for vimentin and S-100 protein. Based on these findings, we concluded that the present tumor was a true carcinosarcoma composed of squamous cell carcinoma with sarcomatous regions and true chondrosarcoma.

Fine‐needle aspiration cytology of pulmonary carcinosarcoma with immunocytochemical and ultrastructural observations

The cytologic, immunocytochemical, and ultrastructural features of a pulmonary carcinosarcoma diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy are presented. Both malignant epithelial groups and bizarre spindle-shaped cells arranged in loose groups, microtissue fragments and in a dissociate fashion showed dual immunoperoxidase staining with cytokeratins and vimentin. Although the immunocytochemical staining pattern is typical of this neoplasm, it does not allow differentiation in all cases from the more common primary large-cell undifferentiated carcinoma, which can also show dual staining for cytokeratin and vimentin. However, the presence of poorly differentiated epithelial groupings associated with a malignant mesenchymal component set in a myxoid stroma should suggest the correct diagnosis. Cytologically, differentiating carcinosarcoma, a poorly differentiated malignancy showing dual staining for cytokeratin and vimentin, from a large-cell carcinoma is important, since the former may pursue a more indolent clinical course.

Histogenesis of pulmonary carcinosarcoma

Histogenesis of pulmonary carcinosarcoma

Pulmonary carcinosarcoma: A case study and review of the literature

A case report of pulmonary carcinosarcoma and a review of the literature is presented. This is the only case where diagnosis has been obtained by thin needle percutaneous biopsy.