[Leiomyosarcoma in the musculature of large vessel wall]

Leiomyosarcoma of the large arteries and veins is rare. In this paper, one case of primary leiomyosarcoma of the axillary vein is reported. The patient, a 66 year old man, was admitted because of a mass in the medial side of right upper arm for three years and increasingly growing. The tentative diagnosis was neurologic fibroma. A local resection was performed and the final diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma of the right axillary vein was established by pathology. So far, there are 86 cases reported in the foreign literature but only one in the Chinese literature. The neoplasm most frequently occurs in the large veins (68 cases) and approximately one half in the inferior vena cava (33/68). 18 neoplasms are originated from the large arteries and of them, 10 from the pulmonary arteries. Primary leiomyosarcoma in large veins is about four times as common as that in arteries. The primary sites in order of incidence: (1) inferior vena cava; (2) pulmonary artery; (3) other large veins and (4) other large arteries.