• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.192-195
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• 2012

Leiomyosarcoma of the mediastinum and primary leiomyosarcoma of the spine are exceedingly rare. In most cases, spinal leiomyosarcoma is metastatic. In this report, we describe the case of a 58-year-old man who presented with a large leiomyosarcoma of the posterior mediastinum that extended into the adjacent spinal canal. The tumor was completely resected from the mediastinum, but only subtotally removed from the spinal canal because the spinal mass had tightly invaded the spinal cord. Because the patient's postoperative condition was poor, no adjuvant radiotherapy or chemotherapy was administered. He expired 3 months after the surgery due to relapse; the spinal and mediastinal tumor remained at the preoperative size.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.39 no.10 s.267
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• pp.802-804
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• 2006

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) is a tumor which most often develops in the soft tissues of the extremities and retroperitoneum, but very rarely originates in the mediastinum. We report a 71-year-old man who admitted with anterior mediastinal tumor and underwent surgical resection of tumor in our hospital. The mass was histologically confirmed as MFH.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.145-148
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• 2008

An inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor (IMT) is a rare disease and can occur in nearly every site of the body. The usual intrathoracic sites where an IMT has been recorded are the lung and bronchus. An IMT originating from the mediastinum has been rarely reported. A patient with a posterior mediastinal mass that was noticed incidentally on a chest X ray underwent mass extirpation. The pathologic diagnosis was an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor. The tumor was positive for tuberculosis as determined by PCR. Tuberculosis can be thought to be the causative factor of the IMT in this case.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.117-122
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• 1999

Primary germ cell tumors of the mediastinum are rare, accounting 1-5 % among all germ cell tumors and 10% of all neoplasms in this area. Approximately 85 % of these tumors occur in men with a mean age 29 years. 'These tumors are mainly found in the anterior mediastinum and appear grossly as large lobulated masses. They are frequently invasive at the time of diagnosis and almost 90% of patients are symptomatic. Primary nonseminomatous germ cell tumor arising in the posterior mediastinum is very rare. We report a case of 37-year old male arising from the posterior mediastinum. Serum tumors markers including alpha-fetoprotein and $\beta$-hCG which are usually elevated in germ cell tumor were not elevated. He was found to have a primary mediastinal embryonal carcinoma with pulmonary metastasis at open exploration. He was treated with debulking surgery and cisplatin-based chemotherapy, died of sepsis after 15 months postoperatively.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.60 no.3
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• pp.347-352
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• 2006

A teratoma is the most common benign germ cell tumor that develops in the mediastinum. Patients with a mediastinal teratoma are usually asymptomatic. However, a spontaneous rupture of a mediastinal teratoma into the pleural cavity or adjacent organs can cause severe chest pain, hemoptysis, acute dyspnea, etc. Complications such as recurrent pneumonia, pericardial effusion, pleural effusion and great vessel invasion can sometimes occur. We encountered a case of a patient with an abrupt onset of dyspnea after persistent shoulder pain for one month. The X-ray examinations revealed a unilateral mediastinal mass with contralateral pleural effusion. Subsequent evaluations confirmed a spontaneous rupture of the teratoma into the contralateral pleural cavity.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.58 no.10
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• pp.386-391
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• 2015

Purpose: To evaluate the outcomes and prognostic factors in children with extracranial germ cell tumors (GCTs) treated at a single institution. Methods: Sixty-six children diagnosed with extracranial GCTs between 1996 and 2012 were included in the study. Primary treatment was surgical excision, followed by six cycles of cisplatin-based chemotherapy. The survival rates were compared according to the International Germ Cell Cancer Cooperative Group classification used for GCTs in adults to validate the classification guidelines for GCTs in children. Results: The median patient age was 4.4 years. In 34 patients (51.5%), the primary tumor site was the gonad. Extragonadal GCTs were detected in 32 patients. The 5-year overall survival and event-free survival (EFS) were $92.0%{\pm}3.5%$ and $90.4%{\pm}3.7%$, respectively. In univariate analysis, tumor histology, metastasis, and elevated alpha-fetoprotein were not prognostic factors in children with extracranial GCTs. However, EFS was poorer in patients with mediastinal disease (n=12, $66.7%{\pm}13.6%$) than in those with nonmediastinal disease (n=54, $96.0%{\pm}2.8%$) (P=0.001). The 5-year EFS was lower in patients older than 10 years, (n=21, $80.0%{\pm}8.9%$) compared with those younger than 10 years (n=45, $95.2%{\pm}3.3%$) (P=0.04). Multivariate analysis identified the mediastinal tumor site as the only independent prognostic factor. Conclusion: The prognosis of children with extracranial GCTs was favorable. However, nongerminomatous mediastinal tumors were associated with poor survival in children. Further research is needed to improve the prognosis of children with malignant mediastinal GCTs.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.66 no.6
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• pp.482-485
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• 2009

The middle mediastinum contains several important organs and pluripotent cells. It is difficult to make a definitive diagnosis in patients with middle mediastinal tumors due to a wide range of diseases. The likelihood of malignancy is influenced primarily by the following factors: patient age, size, tumor location, and the presence or absence of symptoms. We describe a case of a middle mediastinal tumor, which was suspected on chest x-ray; chest computed tomography revealed the eccentric mass of distal esophagus. This case emphasizes the diagnostic importance of the chest x-ray to the physicians. The possible differential diagnoses are reviewed.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.35 no.12
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• pp.906-908
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• 2002

A 60-year-old male was admitted to our hospital complaining of general weakness. Chest radiography showed lung mass on left lower lobe. After left lower lobectomy and mediastinal lymph node dissection, The mass was pathologically diagnosed as large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. Pulmonary large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma is rare. Herein we report a case of large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma in lung.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.487-490
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• 2014

Cellular schwannoma is an uncommon variant of schwannomas that can occur in a peripheral nerve. Although cellular schwannomas typically do not differ in prognosis from regular schwannomas, they are known to cause local recurrence when not completely resected. Here, we report the case of a patient with cellular schwannoma of the posterior mediastinum, which recurred after 13 years.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.419-422
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• 2018

Hemangioendothelioma is a rare vascular tumor with involvement of the liver, brain, long bones, and lung. Among the 6 histological subtypes, epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is the most aggressive. Its occurrence in the mediastinum is quite rare, and very few cases have been documented. The reported cases in the literature have described difficulties in the preoperative diagnosis due to the unusual histological appearance of the tumor. Immunohistochemistry remains the mainstay for a definitive diagnosis. Due to its low incidence, there is no standard treatment for mediastinal EHE, but curative resection is the preferred treatment option where possible, with chemotherapy used as an adjuvant treatment or in cases of widespread inoperable disease. The present case study describes an aggressive EHE occurring in an 18-year-old woman in the anterior mediastinum.