Tumor embolism as a cause of an unexpected death: a case report.
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.
Grass
Hildegard
H
Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Cologne, Germany. Hildegard.Grass@medizin.uni-koeln.de
Schuff
Andreas
A
Staak
Michael
M
Dienes
Hans R
HR
von Both
Ingo
I
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*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents