Open AccessA Case of Primary Sarcoma of the Pulmonary Artery
Author(s) -
Hiroshima Kenzo,
Uruma Takahiro,
Ishibashi Masahiko,
Ohwada Hidemi,
Hayashi Yutaka
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
acta patholigica japonica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.73
H-Index - 74
ISSN - 0001-6632
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-1827.1992.tb03227.x
Subject(s) - pathology , pulmonary artery , sarcoma , medicine , primary (astronomy) , cardiology , physics , astronomy
A 39‐year‐old male was admitted complaining of nonproductive cough and dyspnea on exertion. Death occurred eight months after onset of the symptoms. Autopsy examination showed that the pulmonary trunk and left main pulmonary artery were markedly dilated and completely occluded by a tumor. The tumor had infiltrated into the left upper lobe and mediastinal lymph nodes, and metastatic nodules were found in both lungs and in the left adrenal gland. Small foci of infarction were noted in the lower lobes of both lungs. The tumor cells were of two types; pleomorphic spindle cells and bizarre multinucleated giant cells. Immunohistochemically, they were positive for vimentin, myosin, and lysozyme, but negative for des‐min and muscle‐specific actin. The cytoplasm of the tumor cells was showed by electron microscopy to contain microfilaments, dense bodies, and pinocytotic vesicles. We diagnosed this case as undifferentiated sarcoma of the pulmonary artery. Approximately 100 cases of pulmonary artery sarcoma have been reported. Histopathologicaliy, almost all of the reported cases showed both spindle cells and pleomorphic giant cells, indicating a biologically anaplastic neoplasm. Acta Pathol Jpn 42: 755–759, 1992.