[Intimal sarcoma of pulmonary arteries]

Pulmonary arterial intimal sarcoma is a rare tumour with high mortality. Due to its localisation, the symptoms can mimic pulmonary thromboembolism and pneumonia, therefore assessing the diagnosis and choosing the adequate therapy is never easy. Its therapy mainly consists of surgery combined with radiochemotherapy. A 46-year-old male patient with testicular seminoma, pulmonary embolism, bronchial asthma and pollen allergy in his history had a follow-up thoracic CT. On the left side of the lung, a pleura-infiltrating 7-8 cm lesion, which occluded the pulmonary artery, was described. The first biopsy specimen showed fragments of spindle cell tumour. The primary diagnosis was leiomyoma, leiomyomatous hyperplasia, yet the presence of leiomyosarcoma could not have been ruled out. Due to the arterial obstruction, the patient underwent left sided pulmonectomy. Histological examination showed a tumour mostly composed of spindle cells that were diffusely positive with SMA, focally diffuse with MDM2 immunohistochemistry together with high proliferation activity. h-Caldesmon, S-100, ERG and pancytokeratin expressions were not detected. With fluorescent in situ hybridization 10% of tumour cells showed polysomy and MDM2 amplification. According to the results, high-grade pulmonary arterial intimal sarcoma diagnosis has been made. The precise incidence of pulmonary arterial intimal sarcoma is unknown. Some literature data suggest it can be the cause of chronic pulmonary hypertension in 1-4% of the cases. Weight loss can draw attention to the malignant nature of the disease. Imaging techniques and histology are the gold standard in setting the diagnosis. The prognosis is poor. Early recognition and surgery combined with chemotherapy can prolong survival. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(6): 232-236.