[Primary hemangiopericytoma of the lung]

Primary pulmonary hemangiopericytoma is a rare form of soft tissue sarcomas. Only six cases were reported in the Chinese literature. Three additional cases treated surgically are now presented, bringing the total to nine and their pathologic and clinical aspects are briefly reviewed. The tumor derives from pericytes and should not be confused with hemangioendothelioma. Most of the patients were asymptomatic and the lesion was detected on routine chest roentgenography. The nine patients had chest pain, fever, cough, dyspnea, hemoptysis or other symptoms, but the symptoms do not differ from those of other lung tumors. Some radiologic features can arouse suspicion of hemangiopericytoma. MRI has a distinct advantage over CT in the tumor imaging. The microscopic morphology is characterized by multiple proliferating capillaries with normal endothelial cells surrounded by proliferating pericytes. For primary pulmonary hemangiopericytoma, the only effective treatment is adequate resection varying from a wedge resection to a pneumonectomy depending on the location and extent of the tumor.