Giant retroperitoneal well differentiated liposarcoma: A case report and literature review

The most prevalent type of primary retroperitoneal tumors is soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Liposarcoma accounts for 40 % of retroperitoneal tumors (Mack, 1995). Retroperitoneal liposarcoma accounts for 12 % to 40 % of all liposarcomas (Vijay and Ram, 2015). They typically present with advanced disease and often carry a poor prognosis. Because of their rarity and anatomic location, these malignant tumors can cause a diagnostic dilemma and present several therapeutic challenges (Vijay and Ram, 2015).

A 48-year-old male patient presented to our gastrointestinal oncology clinic with a 2-year history of abdominal discomfort, weight loss and steadily growing abdominal swelling. A soft, rubbery lobulated mass with a positive "slippage sign" was palpable over all the quadrants of the abdomen. CT scan conclusion was retroperitoneal lipoma with internal enhancing nodular components. During laparotomy, a fatty mass measuring 55*60*22 cm and weighing 14 kg was excised. Histopathologic report showed a well differentiated liposarcoma (WDLS).

Giant retroperitoneal liposarcoma (RPL) is exceedingly rare. Liposarcomas have diverse MRI and CT appearances due to the various subtypes. WDLS are difficult to identify from lipomas before surgery. Histopathology is the only way to provide a reliable diagnosis; therefore en block resection is the recommended approach when malignancy cannot be ruled out.

Although imaging with ultrasound, CT, and MRI can aid in the diagnosis, differentiating WDLS from lipoma pre-operatively can be difficult, and en block resection is the recommended approach when malignancy cannot be ruled out.