Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Dec 15, 2016; 8(12): 835-839
Published online Dec 15, 2016. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v8.i12.835
Esophageal liposarcoma: Well-differentiated rhabdomyomatous type
Hisham M Valiuddin, Arianna Barbetta, Benedetto Mungo, Elizabeth A Montgomery, Daniela Molena
Hisham M Valiuddin, Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Bradenton, Bradenton, FL 34211, United States
Arianna Barbetta, Daniela Molena, Thoracic Surgery Service, Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, United States
Benedetto Mungo, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States
Elizabeth A Montgomery, Division of Gastrointestinal and Liver Pathology, Department of Pathology, John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States
Author contributions: Molena D designed the study, surgically retrieved tumor, and followed up findings; Montgomery EA analyzed specimen, detailed pathology, documented findings and reviewed figures; Barbetta A and Mungo B researched literature and reviewed manuscript; Valiuddin HM conducted literature review, collected data and drafted manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Johns Hopkins Hospital Institutional Review Board, No. NA_00023795.
Informed consent statement: This study is waived from this consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare there is no conflict of interest related to the publication of this case report.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Daniela Molena, MD, Director of Esophageal Surgery, Thoracic Surgery Service, Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, United States. molenad@mskcc.org
Telephone: +1-212-6393870 Fax: +1-212-6462277106
Received: May 3, 2016
Peer-review started: May 3, 2016
First decision: July 5, 2016
Revised: August 25, 2016
Accepted: October 22, 2016
Article in press: October 24, 2016
Published online: December 15, 2016
Abstract

Rhabdomyomatous well-differentiated esophageal liposarcomas are extremely rare. As of August 2016, only one other such case has been reported in the English-language medical literature. Liposarcomas in general are one of the most common soft tissue neoplasms in adults, but the incidence of primary esophageal liposarcomas is exceptionally low. There have been only 42 reported cases of primary liposarcoma of the esophagus worldwide thus far. These malignancies are harbored within giant fibrovascular polyps, which slowly grow within the esophageal lumen causing obstructing symptoms. We hereby present the case of a 68-year-old male patient who came in with a 2-mo history of worsening intermittent dysphagia, persistent cough, and postprandial retrosternal pain. After an esophagogastroduodenoscopy, a computed tomographic scan, and a diagnostic endoscopy, complete endoscopic resection was performed of the 13 cm × 6 cm × 2.6 cm fibrovascular polyp. A literature review was done and results are presented herein.

Keywords: Esophageal cancer, Esophageal surgery, Endoscopy/endoscopic procedures, Pathology esophagus, Liposarcoma, Mesenchymal tumor

Core tip: This is only the second case of a rhabdomyomatous well-differentiated esophageal liposarcoma to be reported in the literature. Both cases clinically presented as standard esophageal liposarcomas housed in a giant fibrovascular polyp until histological examination by pathology. Given the rarity of the disease, there are only a few studies outlining its optimal management, nevertheless, diagnosis and treatment of this pathology can be approached by customary means, bearing extremely favorable prognosis.