Carcinosarcoma of the spleen: literature review of a very rare tumour

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Carcinosarcomas are rare tumours, which have both epithelial, and connective tissue elements. They are most commonly seen in the female genital tract. Rarely they arise from the gastrointestinal tract. We report a case of Carcinosarcoma arising as a primary in the spleen of a male aged 60yrs. The most unique feature of this tumour is the presence of osteosarcomatous element. This report highlights the importance of clinical awareness of such rare tumours and gives a brief overview on presentation, probable aetiology, diagnosis and management with literature review of carcinosarcoma.</jats:p>

Primary splenic carcinosarcoma with local invasion of chest wall: a rare case

“…Surface mesothelium has been proposed as the origin of splenic epithelial tumors (Rao et al, 2007). Some people stated that such tumors arose from invaginated mesothelium of malignant transformation or a preexisting embryonic rest (Morinaga et al, 1992;Rao et al, 2007).…”

“…We are more inclined to believe that the neoplasm in this case probably arose directly from the spleen, in the absence of evidence to support metastasis from other sites. So far, the survival time of splenic carcinosarcoma patients post operation ranged from 3 to 12 months (Westra et al, 1994;Rao et al, 2007;Kochar et al, 2009;Joy et al, 2012). This may be because of the rapid spread and highly invasive nature of these lesions (Rao et al, 2007).…”

“…So far, the survival time of splenic carcinosarcoma patients post operation ranged from 3 to 12 months (Westra et al, 1994;Rao et al, 2007;Kochar et al, 2009;Joy et al, 2012). This may be because of the rapid spread and highly invasive nature of these lesions (Rao et al, 2007). The metastatic paths of carcinosarcoma could include the bloodstream and lymphatic metastasis, local spread, and so on.…”

“…Westra et al (1994) reported the first case of primary splenic carcinosarcoma, which was thought to arise from the mesothelium, reflecting the unique capacity of the female mesothelium for mullerian differentiation. Rao et al (2007) reported a case of splenic carcinosarcoma of a male, which was characterized by the presence of an osteosarcomatous element and raised β human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) levels. Kochar et al (2009) presented a Caucasian man with a high-grade malignant pleomorphic tumor with areas of necrosis, and this case revealed osteosarcomatous differentiation and a spindle and epithelioid morphology.…”

Primary carcinosarcoma of the spleen

“…Carcinosarcomas are rare, malignant tumours, which as the name suggests, contain elements of both carcinomas (epithelial cells) and sarcomas (connective tissue) (1). Although normally arising from the uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes (2), this case was unusual in that the lesion was found to be arising from the spleen.…”