title: Liposarcoma of the esophagus: case report and literature review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Liposarcoma is one of the most common soft tissue sarcomas in adults, but it is exceedingly rare in the gastrointestinal tract. To the authors' knowledge, only 17 cases of esophageal liposarcomas have been described in the literature.
  
  
  METHODS
  The case of a 56-year-old woman is reported who complained of dyspnea and airway obstruction and was referred for multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) with the suspicion of mediastinal tumor. MSCT revealed a heterogeneous mass within the esophagus. The density measurements from pre- and post-contrast scanning suggested a fatty tissue component of the lesion and a possible malignant nature. The patient underwent esophagotomy. The diagnosis of liposarcoma was established. Five months after the surgery, follow-up chest MSCT was performed which revealed an inhomogeneous mass behind the left atrium. Additional CT was performed with a perfusion protocol which suggested a malignant nature of the lesion. After thoracotomy with removal of the tumor, the patient underwent adjuvant radiotherapy. The patient is still being followed up and two years after the esophagotomy has been well, with no metastases in subsequent endoscopic and CT examinations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To the authors' knowledge this is the first case of liposarcoma of the esophagus detected and postoperatively monitored using MSCT. MSCT, even as the first examination, may enable a proper diagnosis of liposarcoma in patients with atypical clinical features.
authors: 1st Department of Radiology, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
authors: Elzbieta
authors: E
authors: Czekajska-Chehab
authors: Monika
authors: M
authors: Tomaszewska
authors: Andrzej
authors: A
authors: Drop
authors: Andrzej
authors: A
authors: Dabrowski
authors: Danuta
authors: D
authors: Skomra
authors: Tadeusz
authors: T
authors: Orłowski
authors: Ireneusz
authors: I
authors: Kołodziej
authors: Elzbieta
authors: E
authors: Korobowicz
mesh_terms: D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008080:Liposarcoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed