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Carcinosarcoma of the renal pelvis is a rare neoplasm, with 7 cases reported. This lesion should be differentiated from a sarcomatoid variant of renal cell carcinoma; it is usually associated with a poor prognosis. We report an additional case of renal pelvic carcinosarcoma.
A 47-year-old man presented with hematuria and dysuria. He was found to have a carcinosarcoma originating from a bladder diverticulum. He underwent a partial cystectomy and received postoperative chemotherapy. One year later, he presented with a large local recurrence and died shortly afterward. We believe this to be the second case of a carcinosarcoma originating in a bladder diverticulum.
Over a 27-year period there were 15 patients treated at the University of Michigan Medical center for carcinosarcomas or mixed mesodermal tumors of the ovary. Overall median survival was 11 months. Median survival was 4 months in patients with carcinosarcomas and 13 months in patients with mixed mesodermal tumors (P = 0.066). Patients with a chondrosarcomatous element had a significantly longer median survival than patients with mixed mesodermal tumors lacking cartilaginous differentiation (P = 0.031). The presence of a rhabdomyosarcomatous element did not affect survival. The size of the primary tumor, presence of ascites, FIGO stage, and degree of initial resection (optimal versus suboptimal) did not affect survival. There was no difference in survival between patients receiving postoperative chemotherapy and patients undergoing postoperative irradiation.
We report a case of true malignant mixed tumour (carcinosarcoma) of the parotid gland with epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma and pleomorphic sarcomatous components in a 68-year-old woman. The pleomorphic sarcomatous component behaved aggressively with lymph node and distant metastases. The biological behaviour of the individual components in a malignant mixed tumour makes it difficult to diagnose. We could find no previous report of epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma as a component of a carcinosarcoma of the parotid.
A unique case of carcinosarcoma in the maxillary sinus is reported. A 47-year-old man visited our hospital with complaints of right nasal obstruction and bloody rhinorrhea. Examination revealed a hemorrhagic mass with necrosis in the maxillary sinus that infiltrated the right nasal cavity. Histologically, the tumor was composed of both carcinomatous and sarcomatous elements. Nests of squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma were scattered in the sarcomatous element with osteosarcomatous differentiation. No distinct demarcation between the two elements was observed and some spindle-shaped cells in the sarcomatous component were immunoreactive to epithelial markers by immunohistochemical staining. Although the histogenesis of carcinosarcoma remains unclear, the histologic pattern of the present case indicates the possibility that a multipotential cell, capable of both epithelial and mesenchymal differentiation, was the origin of the rare tumor.
Malignant mixed tumors of salivary glands are classified as three types:carcinoma arising in a pleomorphic adenoma, the most common; benign metastasizing pleomorphic adenoma; and carcinosarcoma (true malignant mixed tumor), which is very rare [Ann. Otol. Rhinol. Laryngol. (1982) 91 342]. In carcinoma, both epithelial and soft tissue elements are malignant. In the context of previous reports, we discuss a case of carcinosarcoma of the submandibular gland including the results of postmortem examination.
We present a rare case of parotid gland carcinosarcoma that occurred in an 86-year-old woman. Clinical and histologic data revealed it had developed from a preexisting pleomorphic adenoma. Microscopic examination showed a neoplasm comprised of sarcomatous elements, mainly fibrosarcoma, intermingled with salivary duct-type carcinoma. Sarcomatous cells, excluding those that show chondrosarcomatous differentiation, reacted positively with antibodies directed against vimentin. Carcinomatous cells were positive for epithelial membrane antigen and keratin and negative for myoepithelial markers, which suggest an origin from salivary duct cells. This tumor seemed to consist of two histogenetically different populations of cells without evidence of a common origin from the myoepithelial cell. We also review the literature and discuss the histogenetic origin of true carcinosarcoma of salivary gland.
A case of true carcinosarcoma of the larynx occurring in a 55-year-old male is reported. The two components of this very rare tumour are pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma and squamous cell carcinoma. A review of the literature has revealed only two authentic cases of true carcinosarcomas.
Carcinosarcoma of the salivary glands are rare tumours, often associated with a history of pleomorphic adenoma. A case of carcinosarcoma of the parotid arising following irradiation to the resection site of a pleomorphic adenoma is presented. The clinical and histological features are discussed and the literature reviewed.
Thyroid carcinosarcoma is a rare and aggressive thyroid tumor. Histological examination of a tumor showed the characteristic of epithelial carcinoma and mesenchymal differentiation. We retrospectively analyzed the course of the patient and reviewed the literature in which only 19 other cases are described. Carcinosarcoma of the thyroid is a very aggressive tumor with a clinical course similar to anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. Survival is very short despite aggressive multimodal treatment.
We report our experience in the management of patients with carcinosarcoma of the ovary, a rare but aggressive variant of ovarian cancer. Forty patients were treated at a single centre, which is the largest reported series. The median age at diagnosis was 65 years (range 45-86) and the median Karnofsky performance (KP) status was 70. Thirty-two patients (80%) presented with FIGO stage III or IV disease. Twenty-four had heterologous and 14 homologous carcinosarcoma on review of histopathology, but there was no significant difference in survival between these groups (P=0.28). Twenty-seven of the 40 patients had bulk residual disease present after surgery and this was associated with a worse prognosis (P=0.045). Chemotherapy was given to 32 patients (80%) of whom 26 (81%) received platinum-based regimens. Of these 32 patients, three (9.4%) achieved a complete response (CR), 10 (31%) a partial response (PR), five (16%) had stable disease, 10 (31%) had progressive disease and four were not assessable. Of the 19 patients who had a CR, PR or stable disease after chemotherapy or were unevaluable (stage Ic), the median survival was 29.6 months. Currently, seven patients are still alive although one has cancer. The overall censored median survival was 8.7 months after a median follow-up of 34 months, and the 1- and 5-year survival were 40 and 7.5%, respectively.
AIM: A case of oesophageal carcinosarcoma occurring in a previously fit, 64-year-old man is reported. CASE SUMMARY: The carcinomatous component displayed neuroendocrine, squamous and glandular differentiation: the sarcomatous component showed no specific features of differentiation. In-situ squamous carcinoma was present in the adjacent squamous mucosa. The most superficial part of invasive tumour consisted of carcinosarcoma with a predominant neuroendocrine epithelial component. Squamous carcinoma without an accompanying sarcomatous component occupied most of the deeper part of the tumour, suggesting outgrowth of this tumour type by a selective growth advantage. CONCLUSION: We speculate that further tumour growth might have led to complete replacement of the tumour by pure squamous carcinoma, and that other advanced oesophageal squamous carcinomas might have had their origin in a short-lived carcinosarcomatous phase.
Carcinosarcoma is a rare tumour of the salivary gland. The ultrasound and CT appearances of a rapidly enlarging carcinosarcoma in the parotid are described. Both modalities revealed a 4-cm tumour with relatively benign features and no evidence of lymphadenopathy. Ultrasound showed a well-defined mass of homogeneous low echogenicity and posterior acoustic enhancement. Computed tomography showed a parotid mass of homogeneous attenuation similar to muscle, and homogeneous enhancement following contrast. The clue to the malignant nature of the lesion was a short indistinct superficial margin with tumour extension into the adjacent subcutaneous tissues.
A case of pulmonary carcinosarcoma in a 68-year-old male patient is reported. The tumor in the resected left upper lobe extended mainly endobronchially, invading the normal bronchial lumina and mucosa. The carcinomatous component consisted of poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma and was mainly located in the periphery of the tumor nests. The sarcomatous component consisted of chondrosarcoma and was mainly located in the center of the tumor nests. Tumor cells in the sarcomatous component reacted with anti-S-100 protein antibody and were surrounded with abundant homogeneous extracellular matrix staining positively with Alcian blue. The transition from the carcinomatous component to the sarcomatous component appeared to be very smooth. The tumor cells in both the carcinomatous and sarcomatous components reacted with anti-epithelial membrane antigen antibody. Ultrastructurally, the tumor cells with tonofibrils in the carcinomatous component were apposed and connected to each other by desmosomes. By contrast, in the sarcomatous component, the tumor cells had well-developed and dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum and were arranged loosely in a myxomatous matrix. Some tumor cells in the sarcomatous component had occasional tonofibrils, and were apposed and connected to each other by desmosome-like structures. It is shown for the first time, ultrastructurally and immunohistochemically, that the tumor cells in the sarcomatous component of pulmonary carcinosarcomas have features of both epithelial and mesenchymal cells. It is suggested that the sarcomatous component in the present case is derived from the carcinomatous component.
A case of carcinosarcoma of the urinary bladder in a 2-year-old girl is reported. The tumor, measuring 34 x 20 x 18 mm, was located in the peri-trigone area of the urinary bladder with polypoid features. Histologic examination revealed transitional cell carcinoma at the tumor surface with downward invasion. Concurrently, a sarcomatous area was found beneath the carcinoma, with these two different malignant components sharing on apparent transition without distinct boundaries. Sarcomatous components included immature round cells focally showing rhabdoid features. No rhabdomyomatous component was observed. Immunohistochemistry disclosed vimentin and cytokeratin-double positive cells at the transposition between carcinoma and sarcomatous components. In addition, ultrastructural analysis revealed that the epithelial cells had a distinct junctional complex, and the sarcomatous cells occasionally had a meshwork of cytoplasmic intermediate filaments, indicating bidirectional cytodifferentiation to epithelial and mesenchymal elements. The extremely young age at which this case of carcinosarcoma occurred suggests that the tumor may be of mesodermal stem cell origin.
Two cases, sarcomatoid carcinoma and carcinosarcoma, of the urinary bladder are reported. A 68-year-old man with sarcomatoid carcinoma underwent total cystectomy and was alive and had had no recurrence after 21 months. A 78-year-old woman with carcinosarcoma underwent total cystectomy, but she died from increasing multiple lung metastases 4 months after surgery. The histopathological characteristics of both neoplasms are reported and discussed.
A unique case of carcinosarcoma of the prostate detected in a 71-year-old man is presented. Pelvic exenteration was performed, and the resected prostatic mass was found to consist of two histologically distinct elements; adenocarcinoma and sarcoma with focal osteosarcomatous element. The patient is still alive with neither metastasis nor recurrence. This is the 42nd case of carcinosarcoma of the prostate to be reported in the literature.
Müllerian carcinosarcomas occurring outside the female genital tract are extremely rare but occasionally they may arise from the peritoneum as part of the secondary müllerian system. This report describes two cases of extragenital müllerian carcinosarcoma with heterologous elements in the form of malignant cartilage. We wish to highlight the fact that these aggressive neoplasms may occasionally have a peritoneal origin, similar to primary peritoneal serous carcinomas.