Central type of chondrosarcoma with a fulminant course--a case report

Primary chondrosarcoma is a rare malignant tumor. The five types of chondrosarcomas are: central, peripheral, mesenchymal, differentiated and clear cell. The classic chondrosarcomas are central (arising within a bone) or peripheral (arising from the surface of a bone). We describe a patient with central chondrosarcoma of the humerus who underwent surgery and only two weeks later presented with multiple metastases of the lung and small pulmonary tumor embolisms mimicking bilateral pneumonic infiltrates. Therefore, such a fulminant course of central chondrosarcoma, which is not described so far, must be taken into consideration during the treatment of patients with primary chondrosarcoma.