title: Tumor embolism as a cause of an unexpected death: a case report.
abstract: The primary causes of deaths for individuals with rare cancers can be difficult to diagnose clinically. Often, the symptoms implicate a variety of factors, and an autopsy is thus required to obtain the correct diagnosis. This study analyzes the death of a 45-year-old woman who reportedly died from an acute pulmonary dysfunction. The patient had been treated with antibiotics for three months for intractable pneumonia. Suspicious coin lesions detected by chest X-ray prompted a clinical clarification; however, no final diagnosis was made. The autopsy revealed a bulky thyroid tumor with venous invasion, leading to a massive pulmonary tumor embolism. Furthermore, microscopy identified the tumor as a rare pleomorphic myxoid sarcoma. Thus, the patient died of a large pulmonary tumor embolism originating from this rare sarcoma, and not of acute pulmonary dysfunction of any other means.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Cologne, Germany. Hildegard.Grass@medizin.uni-koeln.de
authors.forename: Hildegard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Grass
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schuff
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Staak
authors.forename: Hans R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Dienes
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: von Both
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000473:pathology*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000209:etiology*; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents