Presentation and management of pulmonary artery sarcoma

A case of pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma successfully treated using concurrent chemoradiotherapy and subsequent chemotherapy

Pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma (PAIS) is a rare malignancy with an extremely poor prognosis. A 43-year-old man visited our hospital with shortness of breath and suddenly experienced cardiopulmonary arrest before he could be examined. After prompt resuscitation, we diagnosed PAIS, but the patient refused to undergo surgery because of the high perioperative mortality risk. Thus, the patient was treated using concurrent chemoradiotherapy with weekly paclitaxel therapy, as well as subsequent chemotherapy. The patient continued chemotherapy for 36 months until he elected to discontinue treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of PAIS, which is difficult to resect, that was successfully treated using concurrent chemoradiotherapy and subsequent chemotherapy.

Characterization of pulmonary intimal sarcoma cells isolated from a surgical specimen: In vitro and in vivo study

Pulmonary intimal sarcoma (PIS) constitutes a rare sarcoma originating from the intimal cells of pulmonary arteries. The pathogenesis of PIS remains to be elucidated and specific treatments have not been established; therefore, prognosis is generally poor. The purpose of our study was to isolate and characterize PIS cells from a specimen resected from a patient with PIS. The surgical specimen was minced and incubated, and spindle-shaped and small cells were successfully isolated and designated as PIS-1. PIS-1 cells at passages 8–9 were used for all in vitro and in vivo experiments. Immunocytochemistry showed that PIS-1 cells were positive for vimentin, murine double minute 2, and CD44 and negative for α-smooth muscle actin, CD31, von Willebrand factor, and desmin. PIS-1 cells exhibited the hallmarks of malignant cells including the potential for autonomous proliferation, anchorage-independent growth, invasion, genetic instability, and tumorigenicity in severe combined immunodeficiency mice. The PIS-1 cells highly expressed tyrosine kinase receptors such as platelet-derived growth factor receptor, and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2. Pazopanib, a multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor, suppressed the proliferation of PIS-1 cells in vitro and the growth of tumors formed from xenografted PIS-1 cells. A PIS cell line was thus successfully established. The PIS-1 cells highly expressed tyrosine kinase receptors, which may be a target for treatment of PIS.

Occlusion of the pulmonary artery by a primary pulmonary artery sarcoma resulting in cardiac arrest: a case report

BACKGROUND

Primary pulmonary arterial sarcoma (PPAS) is a rare condition. Although resection is recommended to improve prognosis, optimal anesthesia management for these cases remains unclear.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 62-year-old woman with a diagnosis of left pulmonary PPAS underwent surgical tumor resection and left lung pneumonectomy. Preoperative symptoms included a cough and hemoptysis. Computed tomography revealed a complete obstruction of the left pulmonary artery, with tumor extension into the right pulmonary artery, and mild tricuspid regurgitation was observed on the echocardiogram. Ninety minutes after anesthesia induction, the patient went into cardiopulmonary arrest. As the surgical field was sterilized, we proceeded with emergent sternotomy and cardiac massage. Extracorporeal circulation was established, and surgery proceeded once spontaneous circulation was recovered. The patient survived without neurological complications.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on our experience and in the absence of evidence-based guidelines, the femoral artery and vein should be cannulated in all cases for extracorporeal circulation initiation before anesthesia induction.

A Case of Unresectable Pulmonary Artery Intimal Sarcoma with Prolonged Survival by Chemotherapy

Pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma is a rare malignant tumor. Due to its low prevalence, little is known about efficacious systemic chemotherapies in cases where the tumors are unresectable or metastatic. In addition, the location of the disease can contribute to poor survival regardless of the response to therapy, as the tumor's position can cause pulmonary artery hypertension either rapidly or chronically. We encountered a case of unresectable pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma with lung metastases. Treatment with several cytotoxic agents resulted in prolonged survival of 14.2 months. Here, we report the clinical course of this case and present a review of the relevant literature.

Clinical presentation and surgical treatment of primary pulmonary artery sarcoma

OBJECTIVES

Pulmonary artery sarcoma (PAS) is a rare and devastating disease. The diagnosis modality and optimal surgical strategy remain unclear. The aim of this study was to report our surgical experience in this disease.

METHODS

Between 2000 and 2017, 13 patients underwent operations for PAS at our institution. Five patients underwent tumour resection alone, whereas the other 8 patients received pulmonary endarterectomy. The medical records were retrospectively reviewed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, operative findings and the postoperative outcomes.

RESULTS

There were 2 perioperative deaths, both had unresolved severe pulmonary hypertension. Follow-up was completed for all patients with a mean duration of 14.3 months (1-48 months). During follow-up, 6 patients died after a mean survival time of 20.2 months (4-48 months). For the 5 patients alive at follow-up (mean duration of 7.2 months), 3 already had local recurrence. For all 13 patients, the cumulative survival rates at 1, 2 and 3 years were 56.4, 37.6 and 18.8%, respectively. The 8 patients treated with pulmonary endarterectomy seemed to have a better survival rate compared with the remaining 5 patients without endarterectomy, although the difference was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

Primary PAS is often mistaken for chronic pulmonary thromboembolism. Surgical intervention is the mainstay of treatment for PAS, but the prognosis after surgery remains poor. Compared to isolated tumour resection, pulmonary endarterectomy seemed to yield a better survival rate.

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH): Updated Recommendations from the Cologne Consensus Conference 2018

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a subgroup of pulmonary hypertension that differs from all other forms of PH in terms of its pathophysiology, patient characteristics and treatment. For implementation of the European Guidelines on Diagnosis and Treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension in Germany, the Cologne Consensus Conference 2016 was held and last updated in spring of 2018. One of the working groups was dedicated to CTEPH, practical and controversial issues were commented and updated. In every patient with suspected PH, CTEPH or chronic thromboembolic disease (CTED, i.e. symptomatic residual vasculopathy without pulmonary hypertension) should be excluded. Primary treatment is surgical pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA) in a multidisciplinary CTEPH centre. Inoperable patients or patients with persistent or recurrent CTEPH after PEA are candidates for targeted drug therapy. There is increasing experience with balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) for inoperable patients; this option, like PEA, is reserved for specialised centres with expertise in this treatment method.

Rare histological subtype of pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma diagnosed by multidisciplinary approach

Pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma (PAS) is a rare mesenchymal tumor mostly diagnosed in middle-aged women. In a 63-year-old female, the radiological findings showed cavitation in the left upper lobe of the lung and infiltrative tumor mass around the left pulmonary artery. PAS consisted of small, round tumor cells with about 80% of mitotic activity and with myxoid background and specific immunoprofile and diagnosed as undifferentiated sarcoma with round cell features type. The final diagnosis of PAS was established according to the pathohistological, chest computed tomography scan, and surgery finding.

Metastatic Intimal Sarcoma of the Pulmonary Artery Sensitive to Carboplatin-Vinorelbine Chemotherapy: Case Report and Literature Review

Pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma (PAIS) is a very rare tumour with a very poor prognosis. In advanced stages, chemotherapy and radiotherapy are poorly efficient, and no standard chemotherapy guideline is currently available. Here, we report on a 37-year-old woman with PAIS initially treated with surgical resection who developed metastatic relapse refractory to anthracycline-based chemotherapy, then trabectedin, then pazopanib. The patient was then given carboplatin-vinorelbine chemotherapy. The treatment was well tolerated, and, rapidly, a CT scan showed an objective response that lasted 8 months despite the 4th therapeutic line. We review the literature and show that our case is the second one that provides evidence of the efficacy of platinum-vinorelbine regimens in this aggressive tumour.

Clinical features and surgical outcomes of pulmonary artery sarcoma

OBJECTIVE

Pulmonary artery sarcoma is an exceedingly rare malignancy. There is a lack of consensus regarding its diagnosis and treatment. We reviewed our experience in the surgical management of pulmonary artery sarcoma over an 11-year period.

METHODS

From January 2005 to February 2016, 12 patients with pulmonary artery sarcoma (age 51 ± 14 years, 5 male) underwent surgical treatment at our center. Nine patients (75%) exhibited pulmonary trunk involvement on computed tomography angiography. Six patients (50%) were initially misdiagnosed with pulmonary embolism.

RESULTS

Ten patients underwent pulmonary endarterectomy, and 3 of these patients required additional unilateral pneumonectomy. The remaining 2 patients underwent exploratory thoracotomy. One patient (8.3%) died in the hospital. The median length of postoperative intensive care unit and hospital stay were 1 day (range, 1-15 days) and 8 days (range, 5-21 days), respectively. The median postoperative survival of the total series was 18 months. Patients who received postoperative combined chemo- and radiotherapy were associated with improved survival compared with those who had isolated adjuvant therapy or surgery alone (median survival 28 vs 8 months, P = .042).

CONCLUSIONS

Although pulmonary artery sarcoma has a very poor prognosis, surgical treatment offers a chance for symptom relief and better long-term outcome. Aggressive postoperative adjuvant treatment may be necessary to improve survival.

Intimal spindle cell sarcoma masquerading as adult-onset symptomatic pulmonic stenosis: a case report and review of the literature

Background

Pulmonary artery intimal spindle cell sarcomas are rare and carry with them a poor prognosis and high rate of recurrence. In extremely rare cases, this tumor can infiltrate the pulmonic valve and manifest as adult-onset pulmonic stenosis.

Case presentation

We report an unusual case of a patient with symptomatic, adult-onset severe pulmonic stenosis who was referred for possible balloon valvuloplasty but was subsequently found to have pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma infiltrating the pulmonary valve leading to progressive exertional dyspnea.

Conclusion

The presence of adult-onset pulmonic stenosis should prompt the clinician to investigate further as most cases of pulmonic stenosis are congenital in nature and present early in life. Careful diagnostic evaluation in concert with multimodal imaging should take place to arrive at the correct and challenging diagnosis of sarcoma-induced adult-onset severe pulmonic stenosis. Given the poor prognosis and rapid progression of disease, early diagnosis is crucial.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13019-017-0654-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Zusammenfassung. Wir stellen den Fall einer 52-jährigen Frau vor, die initial mit Husten und leichten Brustschmerzen in der Hausarztpraxis vorstellig wurde. Bei stetiger Progression der Beschwerden wurde eine CT-Thorax durchgeführt, wobei eine ausgedehnte Lungenembolie festgestellt wurde. Nach Beginn einer oralen Antikoagulation zeigte sich keine Besserung der Beschwerden. Durch weiterführende Diagnostik mit MRI und PET-CT wurde schliesslich der Verdacht auf ein Pulmonalissarkom gestellt. Es erfolgte die operative Entfernung mittels pulmonaler Tumor-Endarteriektomie. In der Histologie zeigte sich ein R1-Resektat eines intimalen Sarkoms, weshalb zusätzlich eine additive Chemotherapie durchgeführt wurde. Trotz multimodaler Therapie und anfänglich erfreulichen klinischen Verlaufskontrollen kam es im weiteren Verlauf zur Krankheitsprogredienz, sodass weitere Metastasektomien pulmonal sowie auch im Grosshirn frontal und temporal folgten. Zudem wurde eine Radiotherapie des Ganzhirns durchgeführt. 31 Monate nach Diagnosestellung lebt die Patientin noch.

Multimodal Approach of Pulmonary Artery Intimal Sarcoma: A Single-Institution Experience

Introduction

Pulmonary artery sarcoma (PAS) is a rare tumor, whose therapeutic approach is mainly based on surgery, either pneumonectomy or pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA). The prognosis reported in published series is very poor, with survival of 1.5 months without any kind of treatment.

Patients and Methods

From January 2010 to January 2016, 1027 patients were referred to our hospital for symptoms of acute or chronic pulmonary thromboembolic disease. Twelve patients having a confirmed diagnosis of PAS underwent PEA. Median age was 64.5 years. Most patients had a long history of symptoms, having a median time of 7.5 months from onset of symptoms to surgery.

Results

Following PEA and cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, 10 patients received conventional chemotherapy with doxorubicin and ifosfamide, starting at a median of 42 days from surgery. Four patients also received radiotherapy. Four patients have died due to disease progression, while 7 are still alive, with 5 being disease-free at 4–55+ months from diagnosis.

Conclusions

In patients with PAS, a multimodal approach including PEA, CT, and RT is feasible but it should be evaluated individually, according to the tumor extension and the patient's clinical condition. Apart from improving quality of life mainly by reducing or delaying symptoms due to PH, it may improve life expectancy.

Intimal sarcoma of the pulmonary artery with multiple lung metastases: Long-term survival case

Pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma (PAIS) is a rare tumor with a very poor prognosis. Clinical and radiological findings usually mimic thromboembolic disease, leading to diagnostic delays. The treatment of choice is surgery, and adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy have limited results. We report the case of a 48-year-old male patient, initially suspected with pulmonary thromboembolism. The angio-CT revealed a filling defect in the pulmonary artery trunk. The patient underwent surgery, resulting in with complete resection of the mass with a diagnosis of PAIS. The tumor progressed rapidly in the lung, requiring surgery of multiple lung metastases. The patient was treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) on two occasions for new pulmonary lesions. In the last followup (4 years after initial diagnosis), the patient was disease-free. In conclusion, SBRT proved to be an alternative treatment to metastasectomy, allowing palliative chemotherapy to be delayed or omitted, which may result in improved quality of life.

An Unusual Cause of Acute Myocardial Infarction Caused by a Large Pulmonary Artery Intimal Sarcoma

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A pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma can grow significantly within the mediastinum.

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This case is an interesting example of an anterior wall myocardial infarction.

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Multimodality cardiac imaging is important in assessing a large extracardiac mass.

Metastatic pulmonary artery sarcoma presented with tamponade: a case report

Pulmonary artery sarcoma is a rare tumor with varying presentations including pericardial effusion and pulmonary metastasis. Single‐nucleotide polymorphism array is a novel method that can be used to define tumor genome and be used as a guidance to choose the proper treatment regimen.

Pulmonary Hypertension and Cancer: Etiology, Diagnosis, and Management

OPINION STATEMENT

Pulmonary hypertension is caused by cancer and its therapeutic agents including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and even the targeted therapies. Ironically, some of the cancer therapies that cause one type of pulmonary hypertension (PH) could potentially be employed in the treatment of another PH type. Greater awareness on the role of cancer therapeutic agents in causing PH is required. Conversely, since PH is mostly incurable, the potential role of some of these cancer therapeutic agents in the cure of PH should be recognized. In short, the relationship between cancer, cancer therapy, and PH is an interesting one requiring further attention, education, and research.

Pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma misdiagnosed as pulmonary embolism: A case report

Intimal sarcoma of the pulmonary artery is rare, but false diagnosis of this sarcoma as pulmonary embolism is not infrequent. The present study reports a case of pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma misdiagnosed as pulmonary artery embolism in a 37-year-old female patient. The patient was admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit of Guangdong General Hospital (Guangzhou, China) with the complaint of progressive exertional dyspnea over the past two years. Multi-slice spiral computed tomography, transthoracic echocardiography, right-heart catheterization and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging revealed mimicking severe pulmonary embolism in the pulmonary trunk and right pulmonary artery, with symptoms including chest pain, cough and breathing difficulties. In addition, positron emission tomography-computed tomography results did not identify increased 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake and failed to distinguish whether the mass was a thrombus or a malignancy. The patient was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism and a subcutaneous injection of 5,000 AxaIU enoxaparin sodium (100 AXAIU/kg) was administered every 12 h, but no improvement was achieved after 5 days of treatment. Finally, pulmonary endarterectomy was performed to relieve the worsening clinical symptoms. The clinicopathological diagnosis was pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma with poor clinical outcome. For this type of tumor with fatal prognosis, early and correct diagnosis may lead to appropriate intervention and prolong survival.

Pulmonary Artery Sarcoma Overexpressing Platelet-derived Growth Factor Receptor α

Pulmonary artery sarcoma is highly malignant and easily metastasizes to the systemic organs. Both the introduction of novel diagnostic procedures and the development of new treatment modalities are required to achieve long-term survival. Several studies have shown that platelet-derived growth factor receptor α (PDGFRα) gene amplification is frequently observed in pulmonary artery sarcoma. PDGFRα is known to be involved in cell proliferation in certain malignancies. PDGFRα may become a potential biological marker in pulmonary artery sarcoma. We report a case in which a diagnosis of pulmonary artery sarcoma overexpressing PDGFRα was made using endovascular catheter biopsy following positron emission tomography with integrated computed tomography (PET/CT) scans.

Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes of Primary Pulmonary Artery Sarcoma in Korea

Pulmonary artery sarcomas (PAS) are rare malignant neoplasms. Right heart failure due to tumour location is the main cause of death in PAS patients. The hemodynamic influence of PAS may effect prognosis, but this has not been proven. We aimed to identify the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of PAS in Korea, their association with pulmonary hypertension (PH). PAS patients treated at the Asan Medical Center between 2000 and 2014 were reviewed. We examined demographic characteristics, diagnostic and treatment modalities. Potential prognostic factors were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis. Twenty patients were diagnosed with PAS. Ten patients were male, the median age was 54 years (range, 33-75 years). The most common symptom observed was dyspnea (65%). The most common histologic type was spindle cell sarcoma (30%). Ten patients had a presumptive diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE) and received anticoagulation therapy. Seventeen patients underwent surgery, but only 5 patients had complete resection. Eleven patients received post-operative treatment (chemotherapy = 3, radiotherapy = 5, chemoradiotherapy = 3). PH was observed in 12 patients before treatment and in 6 patients after treatment. Overall median survival was 24 months. Post-treatment PH was associated with poor prognosis (HR 9.501, 95% CI 1.79-50.32; P = 0.008) while chemotherapy was negatively associated with mortality (HR 0.102, 95% CI 0.013-0.826; P = 0.032) in univariate analysis. Post-treatment PH was also associated with poor prognosis in multivariate analysis (HR 5.7, 95% CI 1.08-30.91; P = 0.041). PAS patients are frequently misdiagnosed with PE in Korea. Post-treatment PH is associated with a poor prognosis.

Acute Pulmonary Artery Obstruction as the Primary Manifestation of a Rapidly Growing Intimal Sarcoma in a 54-Year-Old Patient

Pulmonary artery sarcoma is a rare malignant neoplasm that is often misdiagnosed and most often only recognized postmortem during the autopsy. We present the case of a male patient with a rapidly progressive pulmonary tumor who underwent urgent pneumonectomy for increasing symptoms of chest pain and septic clinical picture. Histological analysis revealed the diagnosis of a pulmonary artery sarcoma. Despite an R1-resection and adjuvant chemotherapy, the patient is in good clinical health and free of tumor relapse 1 year after the surgery.

Pulmonary Artery Intimal Sarcoma: A Case Report

Pulmonary artery intimal sarcomas are rare and lethal malignant tumors that typically affect larger vessels: the aorta, inferior vena cava, and pulmonary arteries. Since symptoms and imaging of pulmonary arterial intimal sarcomas mimic pulmonary thromboembolism, the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with chest pain, dyspnea, and filling defect within the pulmonary arteries should include intimal sarcoma. Often right ventricular failure is observed due to pulmonary hypertension caused by the obstructive effect of the tumor and concomitant chronic thromboembolism. We report the case of a 72-year-old African-American male with arterial intimal sarcoma of the left and right pulmonary artery with extension through the right artery into the bronchus and right lung.

Dual-energy CT-based iodine quantification for differentiating pulmonary artery sarcoma from pulmonary thromboembolism: a pilot study

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to determine whether dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) angiography could differentiate pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) from pulmonary artery sarcoma (PAS).

METHODS

We prospectively enrolled 19 patients that had a filling defect in the main pulmonary artery on DECT. Six patients who had PAS and underwent DECT were retrospectively enrolled for comparison. Pathological results or follow-up CT after anticoagulation therapy were used to make the final diagnosis. Two investigators measured the following parameters at the filling defect in the main pulmonary artery: CT attenuation density [Hounsfield units (HU)], iodine-related HU (IHU) and iodine concentration (IC, mg/ml).

RESULTS

From a total of 25 patients (M:F = 10:15; mean age, 65 years old), 19 were categorised into the PTE group and six were categorised into the PAS group. The mean HU values were not significantly different between the PTE and PAS groups (45.5 ± 15.9 vs 47.1 ± 9.2 HU; P = 0.776). However, the mean IHU and IC values of the lesions were significantly different between the PTE and PAS groups (10.6 ± 7.2 vs 27.9 ± 9.1 HU; P = 0.004, and 0.61 ± 0.39 vs 1.49 ± 0.57; P = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

DECT angiography using a quantitative analytic methodology can be used to differentiate PTE and PAS.

KEY POINTS

• DECT can be useful for differentiation of PAS and PTE. • With quantitative analysis, DECT offers tissue characterisation by detecting lesion parameter increases. • The patients without predisposing factors for PTE can be candidates for DECT.

Diarrhea as initial manifestation of pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma: a case report and literature review

Pulmonary artery intimal sarcoma (PAIS) is a rare malignant tumor that presents with nonspecific symptoms and may be misdiagnosed as thromboembolic disease. We report a case of a 40-year-old female who presented with diarrhea as the initial symptom, was misdiagnosed and received thrombolytic therapy for presumed pulmonary embolism. Progressive symptoms and subsequent surgery led to the diagnosis of PAIS, and early relapse after pulmonary endarterectomy. Her survival time was 17 months after pulmonary endarterectomy. To our knowledge, diarrhea as initial manifestation of PAIS has not been described.