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Vol.40 No.7 contents | Japanese/English |
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- Case Report -
A Case of Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma of the Lung Extending Grossly into the Trunk of the Pulmonary Artery
Ryohei Yamashita1, Shintaro Terahata2 and Kiyoshi Kakuda31Department of Thoracic Surgery, 2Department of Pathology, 3Department of Radiology, Tonami General Hospital, Toyama
Background: Primary malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) of the lung has been rarely reported in the literature. We report a case of primary MFH of the lung which extended grossly into the trunk of the pulmonary artery and presented an image mimicking pulmonary thromboembolism on CT scan. Case: In May 1995, a 70-year-old woman underwent left lower lobectomy because of a tumor measuring 6.5 cm in greatest dimension. Histopathologically, the tumor was diagnosed as storiform-pleomorphic type MFH. Three years later, local recurrence of the disease was detected. The recurrent tumor invaded into the trunk of the left pulmonary artery. Because there was no evidence of distant metastasis, completion pneumonectomy was performed in July 1998. The cut surface of the resected specimen showed a lobulated tumor, which extended grossly into the trunk of the left pulmonary artery and partially occluded it. One year after the second surgery, the tumor recurred again, invading into the trunk of the right pulmonary artery and presented the filling defect mimicking pulmonary thromboembolism on enhanced CT scan. The patient died of respiratory failure on September 1999. Conclusion: A rare case of MFH of the lung is reported. The pulmonary tumors with the unique features extending grossly into pulmonary artery and/or mimicking pulmonary thromboembolism may suggest unusual etiologies such as sarcomas, for example, MFH.
key words: Malignant fibrous histiocytoma, Lung, Pulmonary thromboembolism
Received: July 17, 2000
Accepted: September 20, 2000
JJLC 40 (7): 771-775, 2000
